Summer New Girl
by Turtleface Productions
Summary: Disclaimer: We do not own any of the New Girl characters. Founders: Ilea (simchick), Kelli (gigglebangsricebowl), and Leora (tryingtocreateperfection) Head writer: Ilea (episode 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, and 9) Editors: Niamh (Jewpackas), Kelli, Tom (m0useparty), and Leora. Cover Image made by Meghan (meggymiller).
1. Swift and Steady

Schmidt sauntered into the kitchen; he had a duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He was wearing a simple white t-shirt with a kitten on it that said "Hang in there baby," cargo pants, and flip flops. He found Nick and Jess sitting at the counter, talking in low tones amongst themselves. Winston was sitting at the table with his coffee, rolling his eyes and shaking his head at the pair; when he saw Schmidt he stared him up and down with a look of confusion.

"Listen up, room brothers; I'm headed on a soul searching trip. I have some things I've got to figure out. I'll be back in a few days, try not to miss me too much." He winked, clicking his tongue. Nick replied by pulling a turtle face and shaking his head disapprovingly at his flamboyant roommate.

Jess looked up at Schmidt, her blue eyes twinkling in the LA sun. "Would you like some company?"

"Jessica, as much as I appreciate the sentiment, I need to be alone right now." Schmidt turned toward the door. Nick and Jess resumed their private conversation and Winston jumped up and ran after Schmidt.

"Hey man, take me with you! You can't just leave me alone with them!"

"Winston, I have to do this on my own. You're going to have to find someone else to pal around with."

"Don't do this Schmidt, don't be selfish!" Winston grabbed Schmidt helplessly, but he was already opening the door and exiting the loft. Winston turned to face his other two roommates and caught the last few words of their conversation.

"So what do you want to do today?" Nick asked Jess sweetly.

"I'm up for anything as long as it doesn't require too much walking. You really busted me last night, Miller." Jess replied and they both started laughing.

Winston threw his hands in the air and let out an exasperated cry before storming across the loft to his room and slamming the door shut.

Nick and Jess were just brushing their teeth when Winston walked into the bathroom. He looked at both of them awkwardly for a moment before backing out of the room. Nick rinsed out his mouth and tried to catch Winston, but he had already disappeared back into his room. Nick shrugged and turned back to Jess, who looked like a ray of sunshine in her yellow sundress. Her hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail and she wore a pair of yellow flats. Nick was wearing a loose and slightly crumpled red flannel shirt with faded jeans and sneakers. When they were ready to go, Nick knocked on Winston's door to let him know they were leaving. "Hey buddy, we're leaving now." When he didn't answer, Nick shrugged and left the loft with Jess.

After he was sure they were both long gone, Winston came out of his room and was walking toward the door when his phone rang. "Go for Winston." He regretted the words the moment they came out of his mouth because he knew Daisy would never let him live them down, "Hey Daisy. Yeah, I'm on my way out the door now. I'll be there in ten. See you soon."

* * *

Nick and Jess were standing in line at the pizza parlor for dinner when the girl behind the counter waved at Nick. She had a choppy brunette bob, striking green eyes and a large grin plastered on her face which distracted from the patch of white flour on her cheek. "Hey Nick! How have you been?"

Jess turned to Nick who looked uncomfortable. "Hey… Jenny - Uh, I've been great. You look, uh, well."

"Thanks, you're not so bad yourself." After taking their order, she leaned against the counter and added, "We should catch up sometime."

Jess, being her friendly self, introduced herself, "I'm Jess by the way."

"It's nice to meet you, Jess. Hey, my break is coming up, how about I join you guys for dinner?"

Nick frowned, "I don't know, that's really up to Jess, I mean…"

"We'd love to have you join us." Jess smiled warmly and Nick looked at her like she was crazy. "Come on, Nick, it'll be fun!"

* * *

Winston walked up to the cinema and found Daisy waiting for him by the ticket booth. "Hey boo."

Daisy scoffed. "Boo? Seriously?"

Winston frowned. "Honey?"

"Try again, hotshot." She was toying with him now. Winston shook his head.

"Babe? Sweetie? My lady of the night!"

"Er… Did you just call me a lady of the night?"

Winston froze momentarily like a deer in the headlights before Daisy let out a chuckle; she proceeded, brushing off the fact that she was apparently a hooker now.

Daisy started laughing and he tittered along with her. "So what movie do you want to see?" He turned to look at the listings.

"I love a good thriller." She nodded toward the gory poster to his right.

Winston smiled, but his eyes flooded with panic. "Oh, that looks… awesome." He walked up to the ticket booth, pulling out his wallet, "Two for Texas Chainsaw 3D please." They got their tickets and headed into the theater.

While they were waiting for the movie to start, Winston yawned and stretched his arm to place it around Daisy's shoulders. She turned to him and gave him a look. "Are you serious right now?" He started to remove his arm, but she grabbed it and held his hand. "If you want to put your arm around me, just do it. We're not in middle school anymore; be a man." Winston relaxed a bit and allowed her to lean against his chest while the previews started to play, a sly grin playing on his lips.

* * *

Elizabeth entered the apartment building carrying a large box. She noticed the elevator door was closing and started running, shouting at whoever was inside to keep the doors open for her. A small bronzed hand reached between the closing doors. She thanked the kind stranger, hopping on the elevator before she realized who her savior was. Cece smiled awkwardly at her ex-boyfriend's ex-girlfriend, trying to be friendly, but failing miserably. An awkward silence passed until the doors swung closed and Cece decided to strike up a conversation. "So what's in the box?" She asked half jokingly.

Elizabeth stared straight ahead at the elevator doors and answered in an icy tone, "I'm not here to make small talk."

Cece looked down at the floor. A few seconds passed before she looked up at Elizabeth and spoke again, "Did I do something to you?"

"Gee, let me think." Elizabeth shot back angrily.

Now it was Cece's turn to get angry, "Hey, he broke up my wedding!"

"I wonder how he got that idea." The venomous and brusque retort warned Cece that she was on thin ice.

Cece was going to say something else, but the elevator had stopped on the fourth floor and the doors swung open. Elizabeth rushed toward the end of the hall toward apartment 4D. She knocked on the door rapidly, but there was no reply. Cece had followed along the corridor and was talking again. "Look, it's not my fault he still has feelings for me!"

Elizabeth dropped the box on the ground with a loud 'thud' and turned so quickly to face Cece she almost got whiplash. "I don't know you, but he was doing just fine without you. He was actually happy. He was getting back to who he used to be."

"The operative word being used, he used to be. People change, honey. Isn't it possible that the man you and I fell in love with are not the same person?"

Elizabeth stared cruelly at Cece, glassy tears threatening to break her stony visage. "The man I fell in love with is still in that cold shell of a person. I was just starting to bring him out and you had to come and ruin it. He is vain and cares too much about what people think about him. He used to be my sweet and sensitive big guy, but now he's so cold and shallow! Though I suppose dating a model will do that to a man."

Cece persisted. "I wasn't the one who changed him! That happened long before I came into the picture." She was shouting now, letting out all the frustration that had been eating at her the past week, "Maybe he was tired of being your fat little foot scratcher!"

Elizabeth gasped, but Cece wasn't even close to being done, "And another thing, I never wanted to change him! I like Schmidt for who he is, whether he's a smug douche bag or a sensitive sweetheart; I accept him!"

By this point Elizabeth is tired of being yelled at and reaches a hand out to slap Cece, who recoils and throws a punch back at Elizabeth. The two get into an awkward, flailing, catfight which ends with Cece screaming, "MY JOB IS MY FACE!"

Elizabeth scoffs and stomps back to the box she dropped on the floor by apartment 4D. She digs a ridiculous gray sweatshirt out and launches it at Cece before shouting "Frogetabout it!" She then leaves the loft in a scathing mood.

* * *

Winston tried to calm his nerves as the movie started getting increasingly more intense. He took a few breaths and clutched the popcorn bucket tightly to hide his shaking hands from Daisy. "It's okay Winston, it's just a movie." He thought to himself. "These people are not going to die. None of it is real. It's not real." He was just starting to relax when Leatherface appeared on the screen, revving his chainsaw in full on 3D, causing Winston to toss the bucket of popcorn several feet into the air. Popcorn flew everywhere and everyone in the theater turned to stare at him. "Whoops, I'll just go get us some more popcorn." He whispered to Daisy before ducking out of the theater and sprinting toward the lobby.

* * *

"Nick, you were such a stud in the sack." Jenny winked across the table at Nick who was making his turtle face so much that Jess feared his face would actually stick like that. "I miss your long hair though. I loved running my fingers through it as you screamed my name."

Jess raised an eyebrow teasingly at Nick. "Nick, I didn't know you were a screamer." Her eyes twinkled playfully, but Nick knew better than to take Jenny's recollections so light-heartedly.

Nick shook his head, wishing he could be anywhere but here. "Will you excuse me for a minute?" He got up and started walking to the bathroom. Jess recognized that he was acting weird and followed him.

Before he got to the bathroom she grabbed him by the hand to pull him back. "Nick, what's wrong? It was just a joke."

Nick turned to look at her. "No Jess, you don't understand."

"What don't I understand, Nick? You're being really weird." She crossed her arms in front of her chest and tapped her foot.

"It's just that—it's not like—would you stop looking at me like that?!" He sputtered.

Jess could tell he was flustered so she uncrossed her arms and stopped pressuring him. "Fine, you don't want to talk about it. I get it." She started to walk away and Nick buried his face in his hands.

"Jess, wait." She turned back toward him and he took a deep breath before continuing, "It's just kinda weird for my current girlfriend to be hanging out with my ex."

Jess stood there, dumbfounded for a few moments before she could reply. "That's the first time you've called me your girlfriend." She smirked up at him. "Is that what where we are now, Nicholas? Are we going steady?"

Nick made his turtle face again, "Don't say 'going steady' Jess, this isn't the fifties."

They gazed longingly into each other's eyes for a few more moments before Nick finally spoke again, "Jessica, you're an amazing woman. You make every day of my life an adventure, you've turned my world upside down, and I would love it if you would be my girlfriend."

Jess's face broke into a wide grin and she responded with her best Yoda impression, "Be your girlfriend, I will." They both laughed and Nick leaned in to place a gentle peck on her lips.

* * *

Winston stood rigid outside the theater, bucket of popcorn in his hands, trying to force his feet to move, but he was shaking too much. He shoveled in several large handfuls of popcorn trying to gather up the courage to go back into the movie. Eventually the movie ended and Daisy came out to find him panic stricken with a mouth full of popcorn. "What happened to you?" She asked when she saw him.

Winston swallowed and opened his mouth to give some ridiculous excuse, but couldn't lie to her. He sighed and pulled her aside. "Okay, look, I don't like scary movies. When I was a kid, Pop Pop took Nick and I to see It and I've had nightmares about that damn clown ever since. I'm sorry, Daisy; I should have told you before."

Daisy reached up to touch his cheek, "You're kind of a bitch," she pulled her hand back and slapped him playfully; "I like that about you."

Winston smiles and pulls her in for a kiss. When they pull away, Daisy inquires, "Do I need to check under your bed for monsters?"

"Hey girl, I ain't afraid of monsters alright, I just don't want to be murdered by a psychopath- and I just got what you meant by that."

* * *

Nick and Jess arrived back at the loft later that evening. They strode inside grasping each other's hands. Jess turned to face Nick. "I had fun today."

"Before or after we ran into my nymphomaniac ex girlfriend?"

Jess laughed. "I always have fun with you, Nicholas."

His gaze dropped to her lips and he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer before kissing her tenderly, but still with the passion and desire that made kissing Nick Miller so extraordinary. When they pulled apart, Jess declared, "I'm going to get ready for bed." Nick nodded and watched her walk toward her room. He then headed for the fridge to get a beer before collapsing on the sofa, turning the TV onto the sports highlights.

Winston heard the TV go on and quietly crept out of bed so he wouldn't wake Daisy. He carefully closed the door and crept over to the couch, planting himself next to Nick.

Nick nodded to his roommate. "Hey, I take it your date went well."

Winston nodded. "Yeah man, I think Daisy and I have got something really special. I like her a lot."

Nick smiled, genuinely happy for his roommate. "That's great; I'm happy for you." He took another swig of his beer, gargling it absentmindedly.

Winston watched the basketball highlights in silence before turning to Nick and saying, "So how are things with you and Jess?"

Nick smiled. "Really great actually, we're going steady." Still flinching at the saying, he felt like he was going to have to ask her father for his blessing; then he realized that even if he wanted to, that ship had already sailed.

Winston nodded. "Congrats man, that's fantastic. You two are really something."

Just as he said that Jess appeared wearing one of Nick's flannel shirts. Her raven black hair fell gracefully around her shoulders, framing her delicate features. She waved to Winston as she padded over to Nick and curled up next to him, resting her head against his chest. He wrapped his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. Winston yawned, stretched and stood up. "Well, I should get back in there. You two crazy kids have fun now." He winked at Nick as he headed back to his bedroom.

Nick rubbed his hand up and down over Jess's back as they watched the rest of the sports highlights in contented silence. When the show ended, he switched off the TV and looked at Jess, who had fallen asleep. He reached out to brush a stray hair from her face and her eyes fluttered open. "Hey." She whispered sweetly; she sounded so serene.

"You ready to go to bed?"Nick asked. Jess nodded sleepily and he stood up. He helped Jess to her feet and they walked back to his room together, his arm positioned around her waist, partially for balance, but mostly just because he could.

* * *

Schmidt ambles through a park late at night, still trying to find an answer from the universe when he runs into a homeless man asking for spare change.

"Please, I am far too busy on my spiritual quest to be bothered with charity cases." He jeers and then continues walking, talking to himself all the while, "I should have brought my kimono. I do my best thinking when my Schmidt-son is free!"


	2. Goodnight Nurse

Nick was alone in the loft, save for Winston who was asleep in his room; he sighed, inwardly happy to finally have a bit of peace and quiet after all that had happened over the past few weeks- silence was his one luxury. He decided the most productive thing he could do was sleep, so he sprawled out on his stomach on the couch, burying his face in one of the pillows.

* * *

Schmidt reached the conclusion that 'soul searching' wasn't his thing after a week wandering between various parks and hostels—nor was it particularly his style; dirty bathrooms were not for him. This only led him back to the loft, his true home, his rock in uncertain times. As he entered the lift with a spaced out expression on his face, he bumped into a gorgeous woman. She was tall with luscious brown locks cascading down her back and smooth, porcelain skin like his roommate, Jess.

"I can't tell whether you're drunk or high but there is something odd about you." She announced as she eyed his flip flops, cargo pants, and ridiculous t-shirt. He obviously hadn't bathed for some time and she had to hold the sleeve of her cardigan up to her nose to keep her eyes from watering.

"I'm not drunk; just intoxicated on you." He grinned at her, winking as he said this, in true Schmidt fashion.

"Is that your feeble attempt to pick me up?" The mystery woman sneered and burst into laughter. "You know what, stupid t-shirt guy? I like you—you're kind of a dork but it works for you." Her eyes glistened as she chuckled at her own joke.

* * *

Nick was just drifting off to sleep when he heard keys jingling outside the loft. He sat up groggily and was rubbing his eyes when Schmidt walked in with a tall, pale, brunette woman. He raised an eyebrow at the pair before he spoke, "Hey, where have you been, Schmidt? It's been a week since I've seen you."

The woman plopped herself down beside Nick on the couch and stared dreamily into his eyes. "Who's your friend, silly shirt guy?"

Schmidt nodded to Nick. "Hello Nicholas, I have had a long week and I believe a little R and R is in order, if you know what I mean." He winked at the ivory woman who looked very disgusted.

"I am not that kind of woman, I assure you. I am looking for my cousin, Jessica. She does live here, does she not?"

Nick's eyes looked like two saucers about to pop out of his skull. "I didn't know Jess had a cousin."

She nodded slowly. "I'm Sophie. Jess probably doesn't talk about me much. We used to be really close as kids, but then we got to high school and sort of lost touch."

Schmidt sat down beside Sophie on the couch and gazed at her with a determined glint in his eyes. "I understand what it's like to be disowned by a family member. It hurts, but it is okay to cry. I'm here for you if you need me."

Sophie scooted away from Schmidt and closer to Nick. "Actually, would you mind getting me some coffee? I have had quite a bit to drink and could use some sobering up."

Schmidt stood up and started walking toward the kitchen. "Sure, how do you take it?"

"Actually, I passed a Starbucks on my way in and could really go for a frappuccino right about now."

Schmidt let out a heavy sigh, but smiled kindly. "Sure, anything for the lady."

After Schmidt had gone, Sophie turned her attention to Nick, who was now sitting up, staring ahead at the blank television in front of him. "I must confess I don't like coffee; I was always more of a tea person. I just wanted to get rid of him so we could be alone," She purred.

Nick made his turtle face and began shaking his head back and forth rapidly, scooting further down the sofa away from Sophie. Sophie however, seemed to enjoy the thrill of the chase and crawled closer to Nick, batting her long, thick eyelashes between slurred seductive phrases, her ice blue eyes flashing playfully at him. Nick kept backing away from her, shaking his head and saying "No" repeatedly. When he got to the edge of the couch, Sophie dove forward to kiss him and he rolled away from her at the last minute; he wound up on the floor while Sophie's face smashed into the couch cushion. At just that moment, Jess walked in the door with two paper bags in her arms. Nick stood up quickly and strode across the room away from Jess's crazy cousin. "Jess, Jess is home, everybody look it's Jess!" When he reached Jess he pulled her into his arms and squeezed her tightly, never wanting to let go.

Sophie sat up from the couch and wiped a bit of drool away from her face. She grinned widely when she saw her cousin and waved eagerly. "Hey cuz," she hiccupped.

Jess frowned, imitating her boyfriend's famous turtle face. "What is she doing here?" Nick finally let her go and looked back and forth at the two women.

"Jess, you can't still be mad at me about what happened years ago!" Sophie hiccupped again and Jess let out a loud cry of frustration.

"GET OUT!" She ran at Sophie, dropping the paper bags she was carrying to the floor.

Nick grabbed Jess by the arm, holding her back. "Hey, Jess, calm down would ya?"

"Who let her in the loft?! How did you find me?" Jess was seething mad, Nick had never seen her angry like this before; he was very frightened and slightly aroused.

"She came in with Schmidt. What is going on with you?" Nick asked.

Jess glared at Sophie and answered, "Never mind. I want her out of here."

Sophie looked at her cousin pleadingly, "Please, Jessica. I'm desperate. I wouldn't have come if it wasn't important."

Jess stalked over to the kitchen to brew herself some tea, ignoring Sophie.

"Are you making tea? I would love a cup if you don't mind." When Jess still ignored her, she continued. "That's fine, I deserve that." She sounded hurt.

"Jess," Nick spoke softly, "Maybe you should hear her out. She is family after all."

Jess whipped around to face Nick. She looked intense, but her expression softened when she saw his face. She just couldn't stay mad at him. She sighed, "How do you like your tea?"

"Milk and honey, please," She smiled thoughtfully up at Jess.

When their tea was ready, they sat in the den and Sophie began to explain her latest misadventures to her cousin. "It was awful Jess, I got left at the altar, my whole family resents me, none of my friends want anything to do with me; my life is a mess." Jess set her mug on the coffee table and pulled Sophie into a warm embrace.

"That's terrible, Soph. Just cry it out. Everything will be okay."

The two began talking and reminiscing about their childhood and all the memories they shared together. Nick had snuck away to his room to get some rest and to let the two catch up on old times. Jess leaned back into the couch and grinned at Sophie. "I missed talking to you, Soph. I can't even remember why we were fighting." That's when Schmidt returned to the loft with a carrier full of Starbucks coffee and a very mystified look on his face.

"Sophie, I brought you your coffee—and you don't want it anymore. Well, I just spent the last two and a half hours in hell trying to do a nice thing. Thanks for nothing, sweet cheeks."

Jess frowned. "Schmidt, jar; you don't talk about my cousin like that!"

Schmidt trudged over to the women and dropped the carrier of Starbucks on the coffee table and scoffed loudly, "Jessica, I just went on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride to get your lovely cousin a frappuccino after several long hours of fruitless soul-searching. Do I get a thank you when I return though? No, of course not; well guess what sweetheart, next time you want to be alone with a man, you can just tell me, you don't have to send me out on some wild goose chase. Schmidt out!" With that he stormed off to his room and slammed the door shut.

Jess paused mid-sip before saying, "Wait, before I got home, Nick was the only one in the loft." She was slowly putting the puzzle pieces together in her mind when the epiphany struck her like a lightning bolt. "You were trying to sleep with Nick?"

Sophie shrugged, "I'm on the rebound; I just got dumped. Plus, grumpy men are so sexy."

Jess shook her head and tossed the remainder of her now lukewarm tea in Sophie's face, "You're never going to change! Things will never be how they were when we were kids!"

Nick heard shouting and came out of his room, his hair was ruffled and he looked groggy. "What's all the commotion about?"

Jess could feel the tears threaten her eyes. "Nicholas, did Sophie hit on you?"

Nick was fully awake now. He started to panic moonwalk out of the room, but Jess chased after him and pulled him back.

"Did she or did she not try and have sex with you?"

Nick shrugged. "I don't think it's my place to say."

Jess groaned loudly and stomped out of the loft towards the elevator. She didn't know where she was planning on going, but she had to get away from the apartment. Nick ran after her, calling her name. "Jess, wait!"

He grabbed her arm just as she was getting on the elevator and pulled her into him. "Jess, what is wrong? What happened between you two?"

Jess avoided his eyes, staring down at their feet, which were touching toe to toe. Nick pulled her chin up to make her look him in the eyes. "Nick, she's a bad person. Growing up we were inseparable; nothing could tear us apart. We liked all of the same things, which is great when you're five, but then we started liking boys," She shook her head, allowing the tears to fall and Nick wiped them away with his thumb, "She stole all the boys I liked. And now she's trying to steal you too."

Nick placed his hands on either side of her head. He licked his lips slowly, tilting his head slightly askew as he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers, kissing her so passionately that they both saw space and time once again. When they pulled apart he whispered, "Nothing can ever steal me away from you."

When they walked back to the apartment, Jess hesitated at the door, not wanting to confront her cousin again. Nick squeezed her shoulders and placed a gentle peck on her forehead before continuing inside with his hand around her waist to guide her. They found Sophie sitting on the sofa, face sticky with tea, sipping her own nonchalantly. Nick balled his hands into fists at his sides; his face was turning red with anger. "GET OUT!" He shouted angrily. Jess bit her lower lip anxiously. She had seen Nick irritated before, but now he was irate. She felt her knees go week and had to grab a hold of Nick's arm to steady herself.

The suddenness of Nick's shouting caused Sophie to start with a mouth full of tea. She sputtered the hot drink all down her blouse and quickly collected up her things and left. Nick relaxed his hands and turned back to Jess, who was smiling brightly. He spread his feet and squatted down, placing his hands around her middle and kissed her firmly, savoring the subtle taste of cinnamon that lingered on her lips. They stood there, foreheads touching, nuzzling noses, when Sophie appeared in the doorway again. They hadn't heard her open the door, but when she spoke she startled both of them. "I just forgot something. I'm sorry for any drama I caused today, Jessica. I wish you two the best of luck." She turned to leave before adding, "You make an unusually cute couple."

* * *

Winston was leaving for work when he noticed two paper bags sitting on the floor in the foyer. One had fallen over and he bent down to retrieve the contents. "What's this?" He asked Nick and Jess, but the two were so caught up in each other on the sofa that they paid no attention to him. A large box of condoms had fallen out of the bag. Winston started stuffing the box back in and noticed something else.

"Ay, what in the world is this?" He held up a slutty nurse costume wrapped in plastic packaging and raised an eyebrow at the pair still cuddling on the couch.

Jess's eyes shot wide open and her face turned bright red. "I—uh—Winston, that was…"

Winston held up his hand to cut her off. "I know exactly what this is." Jess looked panicked, but Winston continued, "I heard Schmidt this morning. He brought some strange woman back to the loft that must have left her things behind. I keep telling him to keep his sexual ventures contained in his room. This is a jar for sure."

Jess shook her head. "That's Schmidt for ya! He's a dirty, dirty, man." She walked over to Winston and started to take the bags away from him. "I'll just make sure these get disposed of properly."

Winston nodded. "Good idea." He grabbed his keys from by the door left for work.

Nick stood up and started walking to his room. "You ready for bed?"

Jess grinned mischievously. "Yeah, I'll be right in." She carried the bags toward the bathroom and closed the door.

* * *

Nick was lying in his bed, waiting for Jess when his door slowly creaked open and Jess sauntered in wearing the nurse outfit. Nick sat straight up and grinned devilishly when he saw her. "Hello nurse."

Jess slowly walked over to him, "Nicholas, you cured me of my annoying cousin today so now it's time for me to cure you." She reached the end of his bed and winked, then pounced onto the mattress.


	3. Chocolate Covered Raisins

**Summer New Girl Episode 3 - Chocolate Covered Raisins**

**(Written by Sophie; Edited by Sophie R & Ilea)**

"Hey guys, Cece's gonna come to the movies with us tonight."

Schmidt darts out of his room dressed in a low-cut wife-beater and sweats. He looks like he's just arisen from a terrible afternoon nap, but his expression is crossed with fatigue and excitement.

"Cece's coming?"

Nick hovers his spoon over his bowl of Cheerios.

"That's what she just said, Schmidt."

"I was clarifying, Nicholas."

Jess smirks and continues tapping away at the keys on her phone.

"Well, to clarify, Cece is coming."

"Better pick out a tux, Schmidt." Nick teases. He looks to Jess for approval and is met by a playful giggle. Schmidt rolls his eyes and disappears behind his door, escaping the impending romance-fest that's about to ensue before him.

"Sickening, sickening behaviour." He mumbles bitterly.

"What's his problem?" Nick gets up from his seat and throws the bowl into the sink, quavering the water and making it splash up and drench his shirt. Jess starts and turns abruptly to inspect the damage. She bites the inside of her cheeks to stop herself from laughing.

"I'm gonna go change."

* * *

"We ready to go?" Winston asks, tossing the keys between his hands.

"Winston, chill. Sit down and watch the game with me." Nick says casually, nursing a beer between his thighs.

"I can't man, you know how I am about getting a spot."

"Okay honestly, relax, it's been twenty years, let it go. Besides, it's not like we're going to some huge concert in the Staples Centre. It's a movie theatre."

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" Jess asks as she saunters out of her room, dressed in a red and white argyle sweater and black shorts. She takes a seat beside Nick and is quickly followed behind by Cece, who'd turned up twenty minutes ago.

"Winston's worried about getting a seat in the theatre in case the same thing happens from when we were eight."

"What happened when you were eight?"

"Gather ye' round, children, a story is about to be told!" Nick projects throughout the loft in an old-timey Englishman voice. "Winston, would you be our storyteller?" Jess and Cece look at each other with confused expressions and lean back in their spots almost simultaneously.

Winston groans and inches slowly towards the couch, sitting on the end with the keys still jingling in his hands.

"When we were eight, Pap-Pap took us to see The Silence of the Lambs."

Jess raises her eyebrows. "They let eight year olds in to see that?"

Nick nods.

"We got there like two minutes before it started because Nick insisted on getting the extra-large popcorn, and then decided he didn't want it no more and he wanted nachos." Winston continues.

"Best damn nachos I've ever had."

"Anyway, it turns out that the theatre it was playing in could only hold thirty people and apparently a lot of people wanted to see this one specific movie, so we had to sit right up front where no one else was, and we were literally like four or five inches away from all the corpses and death."

Nick shakes his head and takes a gulp of his beer before intervening.

"For the record, I suggested we go at a later time."

"Yeah but we already bought the food, idiot." Winston snaps, pointing the sharp edge of the key at him.

"So, in short, Winston's a wuss who can't handle mediocre gore movies and he can't sit up front in movie theatres. He used to call me at like, four in the morning because he was scared of being skinned alive, and somehow, my being on the other end of the line prevented that."

"Aw, that's adorable Winston." Jess coos, placing her hand above her heart.

"Shut up, okay, can we just leave?"

Schmidt emerges from his room, dressed in slacks and a dress shirt, making each of them turn in disbelief and chagrin.

"Schmidt, what are you wearing?" Cece asks.

"Oh, what, these?" He smiles, gesturing to his pants. "Just a little taster of the new CK range. They accentuate the thigh muscles, can you tell?"

"Oh, yeah Schmidt." Nick says sarcastically, pointing towards him. "They also accentuate the fact that you're a moron."

"Jealousy, Nicholas?"

"Oh, it's most definitely _not_." He frowns.

"So what are we talking about?"

Schmidt shuffles his way past the pairs of legs to squeeze himself in between Jess and Cece, turning to glance at Cece adoringly.

"We were, uh, talking about Winston's fear of first row seats in movie theatres." She says, trying to restrain herself from reaching out and pushing him away from her.

"That is not the point." Winston defends.

"Anyone else got a movie story to tell?" Jess asks, looking around, smiling widely. She doesn't like to admit it, but seeing Winston get all flustered is more than amusing.

"Okay, so since no one wants to confess, I guess I'll go. It all started when Cece had her first slumber party for her eleventh birthday."

"Oh jeez." Cece groans, throwing her head in her hands. Jess ignores her and proceeds excitedly.

"She and a bunch of other girls were all going on about this movie that they'd all seen, but I had never heard of."

"It's Dirty Dancing." Nick says flatly. Jess furrows her brow and stares at him. "How did you know?"

He shrugs. "Because it's you, Jess, that's why."

"Well can I finish the story?"

Winston makes a cut-throat action with his hands directed at Nick, but Nick just grins and shakes his head willingly, encouraging Jess to continue.

"Great! Okay, so we watched the movie and all the girls were singing apart from me, and then the next day when I had gotten home, I watched it again and again until I knew the songs off by heart and could join in."

"Jess that is single-handedly, the most depressing thing I've heard all week." Schmidt sighs, leaning closer and closer in to Cece.

"So basically, that's where my obsession started. You can all throw things at Cece now." Jess finishes, playfully slapping her best friend on the shoulder.

"I am so very sorry I put you guys through all those several hour screenings of a great movie." Cece smiles, clasping her hands together.

"You should be." Nick mumbles, tipping the last few drops of beer from the bottle into his mouth.

"Okay, guys, we really need to get going." Winston says, pointing frantically towards the door.

"Schmidt didn't get to tell his story though."

"Me?" Schmidt smiles a cocky smile and half-shrugs. "I don't know guys, I lack embarrassing stories if I'm being honest."

Nick scoffs. "Shut up, dummy."

"I don't know what that means." Schmidt says.

"When you and Elizabeth saw Finding Nemo?"

Schmidt's expression suddenly gets very serious.

"Oo-hoo I wan't to hear this." Cece laughs sitting diagonally in his direction.

"Nick you promised not to bring that up."

"Too late buddy." He says mischievously, wrapping an arm around Jess.

Schmidt bows his head and runs a hand through his hair before sitting up straight and placing both hands on his knees. "Okay, I'll tell you." He sighs. "Elizabeth and I had been dating for a year or so and we both found ourselves alone in her room while her roommate was out. We decided to go all out with this movie date we were having, so Elizabeth got microwave popcorn, ramen, chocolate covered raisins. It practically drained us of any money we had that week. How times have changed." Schmidt grins, running a finger along the crease in his pants.

"Schmidt, seriously, jar." Nick says, sickened.

"What? Under which possible circumstances?"

"Under the circumstances that you're a douche." He fires back, reaching from behind and passing the jar to him. Schmidt grumbles and fishes in his pocket for a dollar.

"I only have fifties." He sighs.

"Just for that, you're gonna put two fifties in." Jess smiles, patting him on the back. Nick looks over at her and winks.

"That's my girl."

She bats her eyelashes innocently and crosses her legs, dangling her shoe on her toes.

"Okay, so what's so terrible about chocolate covered raisins and finding Nemo?" Cece chimes in.

"Oh those were fine" Schmidt nods. "Except the DVD wouldn't work because Elizabeth had gotten it from some skeevy guy down the hall who's room always smelled like wet cement and smoke. Very distasteful, the man probably never encountered Armani in his life. So to compensate, I put on my best fish face and ran around the room pretending to be a fish."

Jess and Cece look at each other and snicker, placing their hands over their mouths.

"That's oddly romantic, Schmidt." Cece giggles, clearing her throat of lingering laughter.

"That it was. That it was."

"That's not it though, right Schmidt?" Winston asks, slightly more relaxed than he was.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, that's totally it."

Nick scoffs. "Fine, I'll tell them." He looks around and points to Schmidt. "That Casa-Nova right there was running around like a _fish_, with a mouthful of popcorn. I got a call while I was." He air quotes. "Studying."

Winston nods in approval.

"That Schmidt was in the emergency room because he had a, to quote the doctor, 'Foreign object lodged in his windpipe. This idiot actually managed to almost die by pretending to be a damn fish eating chocolate freakin' raisins. How great is that?"

He laughs almost a little too loudly, while the rest of the group smile awkwardly and force laughter. Jess leans over to him in his state of pure euphoria and laughter and places a hand on his shoulder.

"It's funny, Nick, but- um- it's not _that_ funny."

"What are you talking about Jess? It's freakin' hilarious! Just imagine a really fat Schmidt choking and wriggling around on the floor."

Cece scrunches up her face. "That's kinda morbid."

"Guys please, I'm losing it here." Winston half-shouts, balling his hands into fists. "I thought the object of me telling you the reason why I can't be late is so we're not late, not so we can share childhood memories."

"Okay, Winston, we're coming." Jess says reassuringly, picking herself up from the couch.

"Before we leave." Schmidt begins. "We need to lay out the ground rules. Couples do _not_ sit together." He looks back and forth between Nick and Jess.

"What are you, a nun?"

"It's in our best interest that we all get to enjoy the movie, Nicholas. The last thing I need to hear during the tense scenes is a whole lot of slobbering and slurping in my ear."

"We're not dogs, Schmidt." Jess says, moving closer to Nick.

"I beg to differ, must we relive last week's events?"

"Schmidt I'm begging you to shut up."

Cece walks over to Schmidt, lowering her head.

"Schmidt, if I sit beside you, will that help?" She adjusts the strap on her bag and looks him in the eye, her lips curled slightly upwards.

"Uh y-yeah, that's cool, let's do that." He nods, forced casually. Cece shakes her head and widens her eyes. "So go ahead and shut up."

He doesn't utter another word for the better half of two minutes. Winston is already waiting at the open door, tapping his foot impatiently. Nick takes hold of Jess' hand and leads her out towards the door, smiling down at her, and she up to him.

"I think we should make this more about the group instead of us." She whispers up to him, biting her lower lip gently.

"I agree. We can make up for it tonight."

Jess blushes and tightens her grip on his hand. They join the other three at the door.

"You gonna order chocolate raisins, Schmidt?" He teases, poking a finger into Schmidt's abdomen."

"Watch it."

Winston locks the door behind them and they start off down the corridor making their way to the elevator. There's a silence that lingers as they wait for the elevator, a particular silence between Nick and Jess. The familiar 'Ding' of the elevator breaks it for a brief moment.

"Hey." Jess says, looking into space. They all turn to her questioningly. "Did we decide on a movie to see?"

They pause, and they groan as they come to a realization, and just as the elevator doors open, they're tearing back down to the loft.

"Why don't we just decide when we get there?" Winston mumbles, as their voices become faint from the distance. The door clicks open and shuts behind them, the elevator doors still waiting for them.


	4. Stop, Shop, and Stroll

Jess came home from work and called out in the seemingly empty loft to see if she was alone. She heard Nick's muffled answer from his room and went to go see what he was up to. His door was open so she leaned against the frame and looked at him with her big blue eyes.

"What's up, clown?" She teased.

Nick had been tapping away at his laptop when she approached. Now he turned to face her and his face lit up when he saw her standing in his doorway. She was wearing a yellow sundress with blue polka dots and a matching bow around her middle. Her ebony hair fell down around her shoulders; the extra humidity in the air made her usually subtle curls stand out.

"Hey, Jess, how was work?"

Jess could feel her stomach begin to twirl at the way he said her name. "It was alright; glad to be home now though." She moved from the doorway; she walked toward him and leaned over to plant a kiss on his cheek. He turned back to his computer and she wrapped her arms around his neck from behind, pressing her lips into his warm neck. "What are you working on?" She stared at the screen tentatively.

"I was just going over my zombie novel again."

Jess grinned, "Well, that Pepperwood is smoking hot."

"Really, Jess? You think so?" He turned toward her, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"Definitely," She giggled, squeezing his shoulders. She scanned the page he had open, frowning in confusion. "Uh… Nick? Why are there lines all over the page?"

"Oh, that's a fill in the blank; so the readers can make the adventure their own!"

Jess turned to him, her lips parted slightly, trying to figure out how his brain worked. Eventually she rolled her eyes at her goofy boyfriend and leaned closer to him. Their faces were centimeters apart as she whispered, "What say we make our own adventures, Julius?"

Nick replied with his thick Chicago accent, making Jess start to feel tingly "A night on the town with my gal, Friday? Count me in!"

* * *

Schmidt and Winston were walking along the mall discussing women when they bumped into a familiar face. Cece was wearing a dark blue figure hugging dress accompanied by Nadia who was pointing out various things in the stores and laughing vigorously.

Schmidt looked like a deer in the headlights. Clearly he hadn't considered the possibility of running into his ex in public.

Nadia was the one to break the awkward silence, "It's the Jew from your wedding!"

Cece smiled politely, "Nadia, can I talk to Schmidt alone for a minute?"

"Sure. I take Afro-American to find dress for party." The rambunctious Russian model grabbed Winston by the hand, dragging him reluctantly away from the pair.

Schmidt turned to Cece, smiling. "Cece, wow, you look amazing—Like a golden Indian goddess. You radiate beauty, how do you do it?"

"Schmidt, flattery isn't going to get you anywhere."

"You're right; we need to nip this thing in the bud. I hurt you and I'm sorry. If there is anything I can do…"

"Schmidt, we can't just 'nip this thing in the bud' whatever this is, it's going to take a lot of work to fix."

Schmidt looks at her with his pathetic puppy dog eyes. "I understand. If it helps, I choose you."

Cece looks baffled. "What?"

Schmidt smiles, a glint of excitement in his eyes, "I choose you. You're the one I want to be with. I love you, Cecelia."

Cece rolls her eyes frustratingly, "It's too late for that, Schmidt. You had the chance to decide and you chose to run instead. Now you think I'm just going to jump into your arms and praise the lord that you've finally made up your mind? It doesn't work like that!"

"But Cece, I-"

"I love you. I always have, but clearly you don't feel the same way or you wouldn't have run away like you did. You know how much that hurt? You know how embarrassing that was? I got left at the altar twice in one night, Schmidt." She was on the verge of tears now, but she refused to let him see her cry.

"Cece, I would have picked you right then, but I couldn't do that to Elizabeth. She's a fragile soul, she's not like us; I had to let her down easy."

"Some fragile soul; nearly killed me at the loft." Cece mumbled under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing; look, you have issues, I get that, but I'm not ready to jump into anything serious just yet. I still want to be your friend and I love hanging out with you, but you can't push me on this." She let out a heavy sigh, "I need my space."

Schmidt nods understandingly and whispers, "I need to White Fang you."

"WHAT?"

"Never mind, let's go find Winston and Nadia."

* * *

Winston immediately regretted agreeing to visit the mall with Schmidt after being with Nadia for five minutes. She kept pointing people out to him, laughing at their flaws all while dragging him into different stores to browse racks full of clothes. He called Daisy, hoping she could make the whole situation easier on him.

"Hey Winch," He shook his head at the nickname his girlfriend had given him. It was a mixture of his name and the word bitch.

"Daisy, you have to help me, I'm being forced into shopping with the world's most annoying Russian model."

As if on cue, Nadia pointed to a plump woman in leggings, "Look, Italian sausage!"

Winston could hear a throaty laugh through his phone and scowled. "It's not funny; she's been making fun of people for the past forty-five minutes. She's going to get me killed, woman!"

"So what do you want me to do about it?" Daisy asked.

"Just, please come save me." Winston begged.

Nadia saw a little boy dressed in orange and white and pointed at him excitedly, "I found Nemo! I found Nemo!"

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes. You owe me big time." Daisy reprimanded.

Winston thanked her profusely before hanging up the phone.

Daisy met up with Winston and Nadia at the dollar store in the mall. Winston pulled her into a hug and thanked her again for joining them.

Nadia picked up a pipe cleaner and held it under her nose. "I'm angry black man; Daisy, save me from pretty model."

Winston looked bemused. "Oh now you're mocking my manliness? That's real mature."

Daisy chuckled. "Aw, Winch, what's wrong? She looks just like you."

Nadia continued mimicking him, "Ay, I'm a manly man, I have mustache smaller than my mother's."

"I don't talk like that! And what's wrong with my mustache? Don't talk about my mother!"

Daisy cackled, "This is pretty fun, thanks for inviting me, Winch."

"I thought you were on my side." Winston pouted.

Daisy patted his shoulder. "I am on your side, but you're so cute when you mope."

* * *

Julius Pepperwood and Jessica Night were enjoying an evening on the beach, searching for clues and protecting the world from zombies. They romped around on the sand, chasing after each other like two kids in grade school.

Jessica's stomach growled loudly and Julius jumped up, prepared to fight the impending zombies, "Julius that was me. I'm starving!"

Pepperwood nodded. "I believe there is a pizza place around here. I could go for a deep dish right about now."

Jessica couldn't help but swoon at his accent and walked with him, clutching his hand, to the nearest diner. As they were leaving with full bellies, they crossed paths with Pepperwood's old nemesis: Fancyman.

"Hello, Russell," Jessica shouted loudly, unaware of how gaudy she was being.

Fancyman looked rather uncomfortable with the whole situation. He had a young woman on his arm with bodacious breasts peeking out of her low cut dress. "Who is this, Russ?"

Fancyman took a moment to introduce them and then made an excuse to quickly part ways. Jessica finds his departure to be out of character, but she shrugs it off and turns back to face her boss.

"Hey, remember the last time we saw Russell? He made us write down what this is on those cards."

Pepperwood chuckled. "Yeah, that was a crazy night."

Jessica looked at him curiously. "What did you write anyway?"

A look of panic flashed in Pepperwood's eyes and he started to moonwalk away from her. She took his hand in hers to calm him down. "Relax; it's not a big deal. I think we both know what this is by now."

Pepperwood smiled, "Yeah, we don't need to talk about those stupid cards ever again."

"Well, I wouldn't say that," Jessica reached her hand to rub his back and when she pulled it back it was soaking wet. "Nick Miller, you're sweating like a pig! What did you write on that card?"

Jess had come out of character so Nick knew she meant business. He started making his turtle face and nervously shifting his weight between his feet.

"Why do we have to talk about this, Jess?"

"We have to talk about it sometime. You can't keep avoiding your feelings, Miller!"

"Fine, then what did you write the card?" He crossed his arms, looking at her expectantly.

"I asked you first, Nick!"

"Who's avoiding their feelings now?"

"Okay, how about we both say what we wrote on the count of three?"

"Wait, on three or after three?" Nick asks, perplexed.

"Say it on three!" Jess cries out exasperatedly, "One… Two…"

"Hold on, what do you mean by 'on three'?"

Jess threw her hands in the air, "Have you never done this before? 'On three' means 'after three'!"

"Why would 'on three' mean 'after three'? Why don't you just say 'after three'?"

"Ugh, Miller, why do you have to make everything more complicated than it needs to be?"

The couple squabbled back and forth until Russell came back and let out a low groan, "Oh for the love of God."

Jess turns around to confront her ex, suddenly embarrassed. The girl that is with Russell speaks up, "Are you two okay?"

Russell scoffs, "They're fine. This is how these two are all the time."

"That doesn't sound like a very healthy relationship." The girl says in a mocking tone.

"Excuse me? Who are you? You don't know me; I'm so sick of people telling me that we won't work! LAY OFF!" Jess yells.

"Jess, you have to know he's not right for you." Russell says calmly.

"Like you are one to judge; she's what, a quarter of your age?" Jess bites back.

"You seem to be forgetting that you dated me, Jess."

"Wait a second, you two used to date?" The girlfriend looks mortified.

"Yeah, we broke up because of this," he gestures with his hand to Nick and Jess, "Whatever this is."

Nick finally intervenes, "Russell, you're being a little bit hard on Jess. Is this because you still love her?"

Russell is taken aback, "That is an outrageous accusation!"

"Is it though? You think you're a big shot with your fancy house and your fancy hair and your overall fanciness. Well guess what, Fancyman, you had your chance with her and you blew it. Now she's mine and I'm not letting her go!"

Jess is staring at Nick now, eyes wide open, mouth slightly agape. She is speechless. He didn't stammer or moonwalk away, he's not running from his feelings anymore.

Russell looks just as surprised as Jess and before he can make a witty remark, Nick says, "Go on; get out of here!"

As they walk away from a fuming Nick Miller, the girlfriend says to Fancyman, "They really are something aren't they?"

When the threat is long gone, Jess finally is able to muster up the courage to speak. "Did you really mean what you said?"

Nick pulls her closer to him, squeezing her hips and pressing his forehead to hers, "Every word." He licks his lips and presses his mouth to hers, quenching his thirst for her sweet, watermelon-flavored lip gloss.

* * *

Nadia was in the dressing room of a fancy department store trying on different dresses. She put on a sequined, strapless dress and looked at herself in the full length mirror. "I'm caterpillar." After trying on a yellow floor length gown, "I'm peek-a-shoe." Finally she tried on a lilac sundress with floral accents, "I'm fluffy kitten." She pawed at the glass and purred.


	5. Nobody Puts Jess In The Corner

Episode 5 Head Writer Kelli and Illea

Jess's eyes flutter open and she finds herself in Nick's bed. Their date several days ago left her on cloud nine. Not only did Nick Miller stand up for her, but he finally came clean and told her how he felt. Today was extra special to Jess because today was her birthday. She has had plenty of other birthdays, however, she was particularly excited about today because it would be her first birthday where her and Nick were officially a couple. Jess got so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't even notice that Nick wasn't lying next to her.

Nick, Schmidt, and Winston were all around the table having breakfast. "So Nick; today is Jess's birthday. What do you have planned?" Schmidt asks.  
"I'm not sure," Comes Nick's puzzled reply.  
"Well, you better figure something out quick or you won't be getting any birthday sex tonight," Schmidt teases as his mouth curves into a sly smirk.  
"Schmidt, Jar!"  
"Guys, I do not need a discussion of birthday sex while I'm eating my omelet." Winston says as he rolls his eyes.  
"All I'm saying, Nicholas, is you better put effort into this and not slack off or you will have to face the wrath of Jessica Day."  
Nick becomes silent for a few minutes. Suddenly his face lights up. "I have the perfect idea!"

"Good morning," Jess says cheerfully when she walks into the kitchen and sees her roommates lounging on the sofa.  
"Good morning," the guys reply stoically.  
"I'm off to meet Cece for lunch; she called and said she needed to talk to me this morning about something important." Jess says as she is walking towards the door.  
Jess gets in the elevator and presses the button for the lobby, already in a crummy mood because none of her roommates remembered her birthday. Feeling ignored by her roommates and unappreciated by her boyfriend, she climbs into her car and drives to the mall to meet her best friend.

As soon as Jess arrives at the café she can tell her best friend is going through a range of emotions just by the look on her face.  
"Cece what's wrong?" Jess asks concerned.  
"We talked." she says quietly, being extremely vague.  
It takes a moment for Jess to fully understand what her friend is talking about. "That's good though, right? Talking is normal."  
"Jess, he chose me," Cece pauses as if she can hardly believe what she is saying, "He said that he loves me." Cece looks like she is on the verge of tears now, "Jess, I pushed him away. I told him I needed space, but I think it was a mistake. I still love him, Jess. What do I do?"  
Jess gets up and pulls Cece into a big bear hug. "Cece, a wise woman once told me when things got awkward with Nick that I would be okay and look at me now. I am extremely happy," Though even as she said the words she could hear the hesitation in her own voice.  
"Are you just using my own words against me?" Cece asks teasingly.  
Jess smiles, "Whatever is going on with you and Schmidt will work itself out eventually. You two are meant to be together, I know it in my heart."  
"I suppose you're right," Cece was already feeling much better for talking it out with her best friend, but now she noticed that Jess seemed distant, "What's going on with you today?"  
"None of the guys remembered my birthday." Jess said in a piteous tone.  
"Jess that's completely normal for guys; they aren't in touch with their emotions like we are."  
Jess smiles half-heartedly, "I thought at least Nick would say something. I thought things would be different now that he has spoken his true feelings.  
"Honey, you of all people should know that Nick is not going to just change overnight. He's still a grump, there's nothing you can do to fix that." When Jess still looks troubled, Cece says, "I know what we should do; let's go shopping and do some retail therapy; it'll be my treat for the birthday girl."  
Jess looks up at her friend gratefully and they head to the department store on the corner.

"Schmidt we have to make this party for Jess perfect so just leap into my arms like they do it in the movie!" Nick yells.  
"I still cannot believe that you want us to help you plan a Dirty Dancing theme party for your girlfriend." Winston mumbles.  
"What are you over there complaining for, Winston? You're not the one who has to play Baby." Schmidt shouts.  
"SHUT UP both of you! Schmidt let's just practice one more time and then I have to go pick up some things from the store." Nick says.  
"Fine, here I come, catch me you grumpy fool." Schmidt says in a girly voice, trying to mimic Jess.  
Schmidt runs full speed at Nick, who tries to lift him up at the last minute, but instead Schmidt falls on top of Nick and the two are left sprawling on the floor together. Winston snorts with laughter.  
Nick picks himself up and glares at Schmidt before storming out the door.

Once Nick is safely gone, Winston turns to his roommate. "Schmidt, I have a confession to make. I have always want to try that leap."  
"Really?" Schmidt asks skeptically.  
"Yeah," Winston answers sheepishly.  
"Ok let's do this, I'll be Swayze." Schmidt says, walking to the end of the hall.  
Nick walks back into the loft right as Winston is running toward Schmidt.  
"Hey guys I forgot my keys have you seen—" Nick is stopped midsentence when he witnesses Winston landing in Schmidt's arms. He shakes his head violently and backs out of the room, trying to wipe the image of Schmidt cradling Winston out of his mind.

Nick is sitting on the couch sipping a beer when Jess returns to the loft.  
"I'm home." Jess shouts.  
"Hey Jess." Nick responds.  
Jess shoots a glare at Nick.  
"Did I do something wrong?" Nick asks.  
"Do you even know what day it is Nick?"  
"Yeah," Nick responds quickly. "It's your birthday."  
"Oh, so you did remember." Jess growls.  
"Of course I do," Nick shrugs, "I don't see what the big deal is; you're celebrating being a year closer to death."  
"Nick I know this sort of thing means nothing to you, but it means a lot to me. I thought you could at least understand that much." Jess states disappointedly and hurries past him to her bedroom.  
Nick feels horrible about lying to Jess, but he has been working his butt off all afternoon just for her. Feeling underappreciated, he slams his beer on the coffee table and punches the pillow beside him, letting out an angry grunt of disapproval before stomping across the loft to his room and slamming the door shut.

Schmidt heard the commotion and peeks his head into Jess's room to make sure everything is alright.  
"Trouble in paradise?" When he sees her tear stained face he gets serious, "What's happened?"  
"Nick and I had a fight. He thinks my birthday isn't a big deal." she replies sorrowfully.  
"Jess I know for a fact he thinks it is a big deal because he has been planning a surprise party for you all day. Remember when I told you he's our chubby, damaged, flower? Well, he's also stubborn and will do anything not to spoil a surprise—Even if that means letting his girlfriend cry alone in her bedroom." Schmidt blurts out before he realizes what he has done.  
Jess glances up at him with a look of excitement in her eyes, "What?"  
"Look, I shouldn't have said anything, but you looked so sad. Just promise you'll be surprised for the party."  
"I promise." She got up from her bed and ran over to give Schmidt a bone-crushing hug. "And thank you."

Cece called Jess later that day to invite her out for a birthday dinner. As the girls walked back to the loft, Jess could barely contain her excitement. As soon as she opened the door all of her friends jumped out and yelled "Surprise!"  
Jess didn't even have to pretend to be surprised. The apartment was decorated in true Nick Miller fashion. Streamers were hanging all over the place, there was a sign hanging crooked from the ceiling that said 'Happy Birthday Jess!' There were even random pictures of Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey plastered on the walls.  
Jess's eyes filled with tears and she couldn't find the words to express her joy.  
The party was in full swing when Winston got up and proposed a toast to Jess.  
"When Jess came to live with us I didn't have much say in the matter because I was in Latvia, but I've come to love her and all her quirkiness. I always thought inter-loft relationships were a bad thing until I saw Nick and Jess together. You two are really something, and I mean that in the best way. Jessica, you bring out the best in Nick. I'm glad he has you." He raised his glass, "To Jess!"  
"To Jess!" Everyone shouted, clinking their glasses together. Schmidt brought out a chair for Jess to sit in.  
"Jess," Schmidt said "We have a group present for you."  
"Really," Jess's face lit up at the mention of presents.  
All of a sudden music plays and I've Had the Time of My Life blares through the loft speakers and Nick, Schmidt, and Winston begin serenading their roommate in perfect rehearsed harmony.  
When the party subsides, after everyone has gone home and Schmidt and Winston have given Jess their final birthday wishes, Nick and Jess sit together on the couch.  
"Nicholas," Jess says, "This has been the best birthday ever. Thanks for putting all of this together." She looks up to give him a peck on the lips.  
"Well, Jessica, I have one more surprise for you."  
Jess stares at him curiously.  
He stands up and helps her to his feet before walking toward the foyer. "We're going to do the move from the end of Dirty Dancing." Nick winks, "Okay on the count of three run and jump and I will lift you up."  
Jess takes off in a sprint. When she reaches Nick he tries to lift her but he loses his balance and she falls on top of him.  
"That went well," Jess laughs and Nick joins in.  
They become silent again. Jess is still lying on top of Nick, but he doesn't mind. They both gaze deeply into each other's eyes and Jess presses her lips firmly to his. She can feel his hands slide gently across her back as their tongues have their own WWE match. She breaks the kiss lightly to examine his lips, biting her own lower lip in anticipation.  
"What are you thinking about, Day?"  
"Birthday sex, Miller."


	6. Of Mutts and Men (and Women)

"Nick, have you been rummaging through my closet?" Schmidt came out of his room looking frustrated.

"Why would I go anywhere near your closet?" Nick stared at Schmidt, alarmed.

"My plethora of Italian loafers has been ransacked!" Schmidt stated matter-of-factly.

"I don't know what any of those words mean." Nick replied grumpily, taking a big gulp of coffee. That's when Jess came out of her room wearing a pink floral top and black overall shorts. She was she was wearing her glasses and had her hair tied into pigtails with two colorful pieces of ribbon.

"Well, I have to sub for a class this morning, but I can meet you this afternoon for lunch." Jess couldn't wipe the grin off of her face as she spoke to her boyfriend. Ever since they defined their relationship she had been exceedingly happy.

"That works for me." Nick's voice was so gruff and sexy in the mornings that Jess could barely control herself around him. She pressed her mouth to his for a soft, sensual kiss. She wished she could pull him by his two dollar t-shirt to her bedroom and spend the morning doing more adult things, but she would have to settle for this.

Schmidt gagged, totally killing the mood. "If you two are quite done, I have a crisis on my hands."

"I'm sorry, were we interrupting your teenage angst?" Jess's eyes locked onto Schmidt's with a challenging stare.

Schmidt avoided her gaze, feeling emasculated. "Just try to keep the PDA to a minimum around the loft, please." He poured himself a glass of orange juice and disappeared into his room.

Jess smiled with satisfaction, gave Nick a peck on the cheek, and headed out the door.

* * *

Around noon, Jess headed back to the loft for lunch. She had just parked her car and was toting her bag inside when she noticed a scruffy black mutt lurking outside the door. He had a white patch of fur on his chest and the top of his head. The dog wagged his tail when Jess approached him and he didn't have any tags so she assumed he was a stray. The poor thing looked hungry and dirty, so Jess decided to bring him up to the apartment.

"Nick, could you give me a hand?"

Nick had been napping on the couch when Jess came into the loft and roused him. He quickly stood up and bolted across the loft, stopping short when he saw the dog Jess was carrying. "What is that?" He grumbled.

"What does it look like? I found him outside, I think he's homeless." Jess looked at the dog pitifully.

"You can't just bring strange animals into our home, Jessica." Nick said, never taking his eyes off the dog.

"But you live here, Nicholas." Jess teased.

"Haha," Nick responded monotonously, then added sternly, "We're not keeping it."

Jess disregarded his comment and carried her new friend to the bathroom where she started running a hot shower for him as Nick continued ranting at her. "You have no idea what they are like, Jess. They crap all over your things and chew up your shoes and stare at you while you're trying to have sex." The last comment got Jess's attention and she stared at him as if he had grown a third eye. "Trust me, I know these things."

Jess turned her attention back to the dog, spraying him with the shower nozzle before lathering him up with Schmidt's mango chutney shampoo. She rinsed the pooch off and grabbed a towel to dry him off. As she was wrapping the towel around the pup, Winston entered the room and immediately walked over, knelt down, and scratched him behind the ears. "Where did this little guy come from?" He asked.

"He was wandering around outside, isn't he cute?" Jess answered excitedly.

"He reminds me of the dog I had when I was a kid. His name was Kareem, after Kareem Abdul Jabbar—my favorite basketball player. This guy looks more like a Magic Johnson to me though." Winston said proudly.

Nick groaned, making his turtle face, "Don't do that."

"Do what, Nick?" Winston looked up at him innocently.

"Don't name it. Don't get attached to it because it's not staying."

"We can't just throw him out on the street!" Jess complained.

"I don't see why not. He was doing just fine before you brought him up." Nick countered.

Jess stared at her boyfriend that she thought she knew so well, "Why are you acting like this, Nick?"

Nick wasn't entirely sure why he was so hell bent on getting rid of this dog. He knew for a fact that Jess was responsible, but he didn't have the best track record with pets. Back home, his younger brother always had some kind of critter that Nick ended up looking after- none of which ever seemed to like him; maybe it was because they could sense that he secretly resented them. Now just the thought of an animal in the loft brought back bad memories. Besides, Nick was pretty sure no animal deserved to live the way he lived. He sighed, "Whatever; keep the damn dog, but I don't want to be a part of it!" He shouted before storming off to his room.

* * *

Jess came out of the bathroom to see Winston at the table hiding behind his computer; there was an empty bowl next to him on the floor and Magic was nowhere in sight.

"Winston, where's the dog?" Jess asked politely.

Winston looked up from his computer screen and stared at her, "Hmm? Oh, Magic? He's…" He glanced down at his feet, suddenly becoming aware of the missing canine, "Uh… He was just here a minute ago."

"Winston!" Her voice was quickly filling with panic, "You were supposed to be watching him!" She scolded.

"I was watching him, but he was eating so I got bored and decided to check the internet and…" He trailed off, deciding whatever was on his laptop was more interesting than the situation at hand.

"Damnit, Winston, help me look for him!"

Moments later, Schmidt arrived home and trudged into the loft, he'd obviously had a long day. Jess and Winston froze and stared at each panic-stricken; they knew what would happen if their roommate found out there was a stray dog loose somewhere in the apartment.

"Hey guys," Schmidt greeted them half-heartedly.

"Hey, Schmidt, how was your day?" Jess asked nonchalantly.

"Meh," was all he managed to say before going into his room and shutting the door. A couple minutes later there was a muffled scream and Schmidt came out of his room holding Magic at arm's length. "Why was there a dog in my closet?!"

"I can explain!" Jess exclaimed.

"You better start talking then."

"I found him outside and he looked so sad and alone so I figured we could give him a home."

"Jessica, you can't just-" Schmidt leaned close to the dog and took a big whiff, "Is that my shampoo?"

Jess bit her lip nervously, "Yeah, about that, he kinda reeked so I gave him a bath."

"And you thought it would be okay to use _my_ shower products?" Schmidt scoffed.

"He's a boy dog, Schmidt! My shampoo is too flowery for a male!" Jess shot back.

Schmidt set the dog down and rubbed his temples. "You realize what you have to do, don't you?"

Jess looked up at him with her big blue eyes and shook her head.

"You have to put up fliers. Someone is probably looking for this dog."

"No way, he doesn't have any tags or anything!" Jess pouted, looking more childish by the minute.

"Jess, he's got a point; it's the right thing to do." Winston placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Fine," Jess mumbled as she skulked away to her room.

* * *

Schmidt knocked on Nick's door. Nick thought it was Jess trying to force the mutt on him again so he called back, "We're not keeping it, Jess!"

"Nick? It's me, Schmidt."

Embarrassed, Nick walked over to the door and opened it. "Hey buddy."

"Listen, I'm going to pick up some Chinese food. Winston's at work and Jess is out putting up fliers so you're going to be alone with the dog. Can you handle that?"

Nick looked unimpressed with what Schmidt was saying. "It's a dog, Schmidt; of course I can handle it."

"I'm serious, Nicholas, this isn't like that time I asked you to watch my goldfish in college."

Nick's expression hardened, but he sighed, "I got it."

And just like that, Nick was left alone with Magic Johnson the dog; the one thing Nick had been dreading since he saw Jess walk through the door with the thing in her arms. "This is my nightmare," he mumbled to himself.

Nick grabbed himself a beer from the fridge and plopped down on the couch. He started flipping through the channels looking for something to watch on TV. Magic sat obediently at his feet and watched him, cocking his head slightly to the side. Nick frowned. "What are you looking at?"

Magic whined and wagged his tail playfully.

"I'm not your friend."

Magic barked excitedly and began prancing around at Nick's feet.

Nick shook his head. "I'm not this guy. You are literally barking up the wrong tree."

Then Magic unexpectedly crawled into Nick's lap and rested his head on his chest, looking up at him with his dark brown eyes. Nick tried to resist the mutt's charms, but failed miserably. "Well, you are kinda cute I guess." As if in agreement, Magic licked Nick's face, wagging his tail wildly. Nick smiled, "Alright, fine, I like ya. But not a word of this gets back to Jess, you hear?" When the dog didn't respond, he took that as a sign that he understood and began petting him.

* * *

By the time Jess finished putting up fliers she was exhausted emotionally and physically. She felt like she was in fourth grade all over again with her father telling her she couldn't have a dog. Even though she promised she would look after it, he still hadn't approved. And now her roommates were telling her the exact same things. Deep down she knew that there was probably a family looking for their lost dog, but she felt like she deserved this. She walked back into the loft, but no one appeared to be home. "Nick? Schmidt? I'm home!"

She walked down the hall to Nick's room and found him and Magic on the floor, playing tug of war with one of his socks. She noticed Magic was wearing a blue bandana around his neck. "Not keeping him, huh?" Jess leaned against the doorframe and clicked her tongue at her boyfriend.

Nick stood up suddenly. "Jess! We were just uh… It's not what it looks like!"

"Shut up, clown." She teased.

Magic ran over to Jess and rolled over on his back for her to rub his belly. She obliged and shook her head at Nick.

* * *

Schmidt came back with several cartons of Chinese take-out and the three roommates ate in relative silence. Magic sat at their feet and begged for scraps. Nick and Jess had been ogling at each other through the entire meal and when they were finished eating they withdrew into Nick's bedroom with very determined looks on their faces. Schmidt shook his head. "They couldn't be more obvious." He turned his attention to Magic, who was focusing all of his energy on trying to hypnotize Schmidt into giving him food.

"Dogs don't beg."

Magic licked his chops. From across the loft, Schmidt could hear Nick playing his 'Sexy Mix.' Schmidt rolled his eyes. "Okay, you don't need to be listening to that. Come, I'll show you my Armani collection."

Magic cocked his head in interest and followed Schmidt into his room.

Schmidt spent the next hour showing Magic his different outfits. He was in the middle of modeling a Ralph Lauren suit when the phone rang. He ran out into the living room to answer the phone; Magic followed him, yapping at his heels.

After hanging up the phone, Schmidt drug his feet over to Nick's door and knocked on it sadly. Nick opened the door a moment later wearing forest green boxers and a white t-shirt. "What do you want, Schmidt?" He tried to keep a straight face, but it was difficult when his roommate was dressed in such a goofy ensemble.

"Jess, those fliers you put up worked. His owners just called. They'll swing by in a couple hours to pick him up."

Jess got up and slipped on one of Nick's discarded flannel shirts before joining the boys in the living room. They all sat on the couch, moping over the inevitable loss of their new friend.

* * *

Winston arrived home after work to find all three of his roommates sitting around the living room, looking fairly glum. "Hey guys, what's up with you?"

"Winston," Jess slurred, holding up a half empty glass of pink wine, "We have to tell you something."

Winston took a quick glance around the room. "Oh no, where's Magic?" His lower lip began to quiver.

"His name's Blackie." Schmidt spat before sucking down his beer.

Jess continued, "His family came to pick him up a while ago. Why should they get to keep him? I found the damn dog; they didn't even want him!" She leaned against Nick's shoulder and he rubbed her back.

"I didn't know it was possible to fall in love with anything so quickly, but that dog was the best damn thing that happened to this loft." Nick said woefully.

Winston sat down between Jess and Schmidt, grabbing a beer off the coffee table. "You mean he's just gone, just like that?" He twisted the bottle open and melded into the couch cushions. "I didn't even get to say goodbye."

"Blackie is a stupid name anyway. Who names their dog Blackie? That's so unoriginal and a little racist." Schmidt pouted.

"Ay, at least we got to chill with him for a little while." Winston said, trying to cheer them up.

Nick nodded in agreement, wrapping his arm around Jess and intertwining his fingers with hers. Jess finished off her wine and set her glass on the table, taking Nick's hand in both of hers and playing with his fingers. "Those kids better appreciate what they have. Some of us weren't lucky enough to have grown up with such an awesome dog."

Schmidt pursed his lips together, "Amen to that."

Winston finally noticed what Schmidt was wearing: a Ralph Lauren polo shirt, khaki Capri pants, designer flip flops, and a sports coat. "Schmidt, what the hell are you wearing?"

Schmidt looked down at his outfit and choked back a sob, "Magic liked it."

Jess stopped fidgeting with Nick's hand and stared at Schmidt. "You took fashion advice from a dog?"

"Hey, he has an excellent sense of style!"

Winston rolled his eyes, "Whatever man, you look ridiculous."

They all shared a laugh and Nick said, "It's probably best that they picked him up when they did. If he stayed here much longer I bet Winston would have tried to take him to the basketball court!"


	7. This Ship Sails Itself

Schmidt sat in his office, typing away lazily at his computer. He checked the clock in the corner of the screen—only three o'clock, he still had two more hours of this monotony. Glumly, he opened up his web browser to check his email for what felt like the millionth time. When he saw two new messages, he thanked the heavens above for giving him something to do for the next few minutes. He opened the first email, which was just a junk offer for some watermelon vanilla bean body lotion that was on sale. Even though he already had his own moisturizer, he went on to read even the fine print of the email out of boredom. He then deleted the junk mail and opened the next message in his inbox. It was sent by an online company that Schmidt frequently bought suits from. He read the email to himself, "Hello! We've noticed that you are a loyal customer and because we value your business so much, we are attaching four tickets for a cruise to the Caribbean to this email. Enjoy your vacation and we hope to do business with you again soon!" He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He opened the attachment and sure enough, the tickets were legitimate. He hastily printed them out and turned back to the clock, anxious to get home and announce the news to his roommates who would more than likely be overjoyed by his charity; alas it was only 3:15. Would this day ever end?

* * *

Winston, Nick, and Jess were all sitting at the table playing an intense game of go fish when Schmidt came bursting through the door with a wide grin plastered across his face. "It's a beautiful day, isn't it friends?"

Nick raised one of his eyebrows and cocked his head toward his roommate who had clearly lost his mind, "Someone got into Jess's secret stash of happy pills."

Schmidt dusted off Nick's comment, too excited to care that the others were snickering at it, "I just got four tickets to go on a cruise!"

Winston rolled his eyes, "You're not supposed to click on those things, Schmidt, they're riddled with viruses."

Schmidt half-skipped over to Winston and dropped the tickets in front of him, "Read 'em and weep, boys." He noticed Jess giving him a look and quickly added, "And girl."

Winston inspected the tickets closely, determined to find an imperfection in them, but he failed. "How did you…?"

Schmidt looked pleased with himself, "One of the perks of having impeccable taste in reasonably priced suits."

Jess placed her cards face down on the table and grabbed one of the tickets. "So this is for real? Are we going on a vacation—just the four of us?"

Schmidt nodded. "That's the plan."

Jess squealed and began jumping up and down. Winston joined her and they began talking eagerly about the trip.

"I'm going to spend the week on the upper decks working on my tan; maybe I'll try shuffleboard, I've always wanted to play." Jess said elatedly.

"Yeah, they have a bunch of stuff to do and I bet the food is fantastic! Night after night of endless buffets, I'm already drooling!" Winston added.

Nick watched the two and shook his head, rearranging the cards in his hand as if they were still playing. "Well, enjoy yourselves. Send me a postcard from Jamaica or wherever it is you're going."

The smile dropped from Jess's face instantly. "You're not going, Nick?"

"Was I not making that clear?" Nick continued to fidget with his cards.

"But, you have to go, Nick! I have four tickets!" Schmidt said desperately.

"Well, give mine to someone else," Nick stated plainly.

"What's wrong with you, Nick? Don't you want a vacation?" Winston asked.

Nick shrugged, studying his cards intently, "I can't get the time off from work."

"Nick, you're a bartender, I think you can get the time off." Winston stared at him. "Come on man, what's really going on?"

Nick sighed, finally looking up from his cards, "I don't like boats."

Winston stared at him blankly, "This isn't a boat though. It's a luxury cruise. It's like a hotel on waves!"

Nick frowned, "And what happens if it sinks while you're sleeping in your luxurious hotel bed? You die. Count me out."

"Nicholas, it's one hundred percent safe, I promise. You're more likely to die in a plane crash than sink on a cruise ship." Schmidt said, trying to be helpful.

"And now I'm never going on a plane ever again. Thanks, Schmidt." Nick walked over to the fridge to get himself a beer. This conversation was way too stressful for him to have while sober.

Jess put her hands on her hips, "Well, if Nick's staying, I'm staying."

Nick popped open his beer and wheeled around to face her. "Jess, what are you doing?"

"I don't want to go if you aren't going to be there. It won't be any fun without you." She looked at him sympathetically before crossing her arms and withdrawing into herself to let him know that her decision was final.

Nick sighed and turned to Schmidt, "Sorry man, looks like you've got two extra tickets."

Schmidt started to protest, but Winston interjected, "If they aren't going, I'm bringing Daisy!"

Schmidt grumbled. "Great, looks like I'm going to be the third wheel. Thanks guys."

Jess patted his shoulder, "You should invite Cece."

Schmidt wanted to laugh, but the pain in his chest kept him quiet, "She doesn't want to go anywhere with me, let alone a romantic cruise to the Caribbean."

"Who says it has to be romantic? I think you both could use some time away."

Schmidt hung his head, "She's going to say no."

"She won't say no." Jess countered, "Call her."

* * *

Cece was watching TV with Nadia when her phone rang just as the Russian supermodel's latest infomercial came on. Cece sneaked into her room to answer it. She saw that it was Schmidt from the caller ID and couldn't help but smile before saying hello.

"Hey, Cece, is this a bad time?"

"No, it's actually the perfect time. Nadia's watching her latest commercial and reciting her lines in sync with the TV; it's pretty annoying. What's up?" She sounded cheerful.

"That's rich; classic Nadia. Listen, I have an extra ticket to go on this cruise and it's yours if you want it."

"Yes!" Cece shouted into her phone.

Schmidt wasn't expecting such enthusiasm and he certainly wasn't expecting her to say yes. "What, you mean you'll go?" he asked dumbfounded.

"Of course I'll go; Nadia is driving me crazy. If I don't get out of this apartment I'm going to go crazy."

Schmidt could feel a smile begin to grow across his lips, "So the ship leaves Monday at noon; I'll pick you up at eleven?"

"I'll be ready. Thanks, Schmidt."

"No problem, I'll see you then."

"Goodnight, Schmidt."

"Goodnight, Cecelia."

After she hung up the phone, Cece had to restrain herself from throwing it in the air in triumph. She needed a vacation so bad.

* * *

Just before noon on Monday, Nick and Jess were saying goodbye to their friends before they boarded the cruise ship. Cece pulled Jess aside, "Are you going to be okay? I know you've always wanted to go on a cruise."

Jess nodded, "I'm positive. It'll be nice to have the loft all to ourselves for a change." She started to laugh, but she noticed Cece looked nervous, "Are _you_ going to be okay?"

Cece seemed distracted, "Huh? Oh me? I'll be fine. I need to get out of the apartment; I can't watch another infomercial about that diet pill, I'm going crazy just thinking about it."

Jess could sense she was still on edge, "Cees, if this is about Schmidt..."

Cece almost played the dumb card, but she knew Jess wouldn't have any of it, "I'm just worried. What if I do something stupid?"

"You won't; and he won't do anything to provoke you doing something stupid because he's just as nervous." Jess reassured her.

The horn on the boat sounded and people started filing onto the ship. Jess hugged her friends as they departed. As the boat launched, they waved at Nick and Jess from the railing. When the ship was well out of sight, Nick took Jess by the hand and they walked back to his car and drove home.

When they got to the loft, Jess walked over to the table and sat down. Propping her chin up on her elbows, she looked at Nick and asked, "What now?"

Nick sat down on the couch and turned on the TV, "You want to watch a movie or something?"

Jess sighed. "Actually, I'm kind of tired; I think I'm going to go take a nap."

Nick turned to face her and noticed the look of disappointment on her face. He wasn't sure exactly how to respond so he just said, "Okay."

Jess let out another disappointed sigh as she walked to her room. Nick watched her slink away and cursed himself for being so thick headed. He turned his attention back to the television, flipping through the channels absentmindedly since his mind was in another place entirely. He knew he had to do something for Jess; after all, she had given up the trip of a lifetime to stay home with him. He still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that a wonderful woman like Jess was so hung up on a deadbeat like himself. He flipped through a few more channels, not really paying any mind to what was on them, before switching off the television entirely and heading out the door. He had to do something to prove to Jess that he was worth staying behind.

* * *

Once the ship had set sail, Winston and Daisy checked into their room and then went off to explore the decks together leaving Schmidt and Cece standing awkwardly by the railing. Schmidt looked extremely uncomfortable, so Cece spoke first, "I guess we should go put our things in the room."

Schmidt nodded. "I suppose that would be best."

The room was just like any hotel room; two single beds, a tiny bathroom, and a small TV. Cece sat on her bed and stared down at her feet. Schmidt stood a safe distance away and twiddled his thumbs.

"Well, I'm going to check out the rest of the ship; you're welcome to join me." Cece got up and walked toward the door. Schmidt followed her reluctantly.

They walked around for a bit, but the air turned sour fairly quickly. Cece kept turning to Schmidt and making comments about things and he would either nod silently or ignore her completely. "What is with you? Why did you even invite me if you were going to act this way?" Cece asked in a cutting tone.

"I'm sorry, Cece, how do you want me to act?" His words were colder than he intended, but he went with it by staring at her harshly.

"I want you to act normal." She didn't appreciate the way he was looking at her, so she met his gaze with even more intensity.

"You want normal, Cece? You want me to make stupid jokes and pretend like being around you without actually being with you doesn't kill me inside? That's normalcy and I'm sorry, but I can't do this anymore."

"Oh please, don't act like you're the victim in all this. I told you why we can't be together right now. You knew what you were getting into when you invited me." Cece stalked toward the railing, staring off into the setting sun.

Schmidt followed her, "I didn't _want_ to invite you, but Jess twisted my arm and convinced me to."

Cece scoffed.

"It's true," He leaned against the railing, "Truth is, I would have preferred to have come alone, but I actually wanted to see you. I've missed you, Cecelia. I lo-"

"Don't say it." Cece's brown eyes met his and warned him not to finish his thought. "I can't hear you say those words again. You say them so much that they're starting to lose all meaning."

Schmidt nodded, frowning slightly, "Fine, I won't say it; but there's nothing stopping me from showing it." He parted his lips and leaned forward, kissing her full on the mouth.

Cece recoiled. "Schmidt,"

"Shhhh," he whispered, kissing her again. This time she didn't pull away. She wrapped her arms around him and didn't object when he suggested they head back to their room.

* * *

"Looks like someone made up." Daisy was only a few feet away when Schmidt and Cece started making out and then scampered away, presumably to their room. Winston walked up behind her, grabbing her by the waist and pressing his face into her warm neck.

"Those two are off and on so much I'm beginning to think they're a light switch." Winston chuckled at his own corny joke and even Daisy stifled a laugh.

"You gotta admit though, they're kinda perfect for each other." She turned her head to look at Winston, who smiled in turn.

"Not as perfect as us." He pursed his lips and gave her a light peck on the lips.

"I wouldn't say we're perfect," she smirked at the nervous glint that appeared in his eyes, "but we're pretty damn close." Winston kissed her again, more forcefully this time.

"I'm starved, what do ya say we hit the buffet?" Winston asked.

"Lead the way, Winch." Daisy linked her arm through his and they went off in search of food.

* * *

Jess was lying in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She hadn't gotten much sleep seeing as she was too angry for that. She didn't expect much from Nick, but he could have offered for them to do something fun or romantic. Instead he'd just turned on the TV and started flipping through channels like a mindless zombie. And it wasn't as if he didn't know what he did wrong, she saw the way he was looking at her over the back of the couch, she had all of his looks memorized by now. He could have come into her room and apologized or offered to talk about it, but he didn't even do that.

Now Jess sat in her bed, seething mad because she knew he had left her all alone in the apartment. She had come out of her room hours ago to find him gone. He hadn't even bothered to leave a note. So she settled back into her bed and prepared for a fight whenever he returned home.

"Jess, are you awake?" Nick knocked on the door softly, hoping that by waking her up he wasn't about to wake a sleeping dragon.

Jess sat up in bed, a stern look drawn across her face. "Come in."

Nick opened the door slowly; he was smiling until he saw her face. "Is everything alright?"

Jess took a deep breath, "Actually, Nicholas, I-"

"Jess wait, before you say anything, can you just come with me for a second?"

Jess raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"I promise it will be worth it." He looked so hopeful that she couldn't say no.

He led her up to the roof. The minute she walked outside, her breath hitched in her throat. Nick had really outdone himself. The roof was lined with wicker torches. There was a small plastic pool to her left with lounge chairs around it. Beside the pool, Nick had fashioned a hammock out of bed sheets. To her right was an air mattress, made up with a large sleeping bag. In the middle of the roof, a table was set up with two luau style meals waiting for them: some random fruit skewered together with chunks of beef jerky and a jug of Hawaiian Punch. Jess turned to face Nick, who had a humble smile on his face. "I know it's not a luxury cruise, but I think it's pretty close."

Jess pulled him into a hug, squeezing him tightly. "It's perfect."

Nick pulled a chair out for her and offered for her to sit down to their luau feast when thunder suddenly clapped overhead.

"Um, Nick? Is it supposed to rain tonight?"

Nick stared at her and shook his head. "I don't think so."

As if on cue, rain started to pour down all around them. Nick made his turtle face and nodded as if this was typical for them. Jess laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer for a passionate kiss in the rain.


	8. Exes and Urges

Nick and Jess laid in his bed after the failed and wet date completely satisfied . Well that was fun, Nick and Jess both laughed. "Nicholas, you're going to have to find another line to use after we have sexy time" she stated teasingly. " Jessica, after what we did last night words do not come easily", Nick smiled." Ugh, I wish I didn't have to go to the school today for new teacher training", Jess sighed disappointed." I wish I didn't have to go to the bar this morning to restock and place orders", Nick sighed dramatically mocking Jess. Jess slapped Nick lightly, Jess started to smile big, " how much time do we have to get ready"? Nick catching the mischievous looked in her and said " enough time to make out and have sexy time in the shower".

Schmidt and Cece stared up at the ceiling in their cabin lost in their thoughts until Schmidt breaks the silence. Schmidt speaking softly, "Cece, we really need to talk about last night". Cece doesn't respond. Cece, Cece , Cece, are you ok, did I do something wrong, was it something I said." Schmidt started pacing around the room." Schmidt stop pacing the boat is making me sea sick and you aren't helping" she stared at him angrily. Schmidt looked down " I'm sorry. I just got worried when you didn't respond, I just wanted to know how you felt about last night" Schmidt mumbles. " Schmidt, there is nothing to discuss we were just two adults satisfying adult urges, now let's get ready and get off this boat before my sea sickness gets worse" Cece responds.

Nick is working in the bar ordering and restocking glasses when Shane walks in and grabs his arm. "Hello, Nick its been a while since I have seen you" she said in a flirty voice. "Hey, Shane" nick mumbles. Shane bats her eyes, " How have you been"? Nick getting annoyed sighed loudly, " I'm great life is good". Shane finally annoyed with the way Nick was treating her grabbed his arm again and whispered in his ear " I've been so lonely without you want to leave your shift and fix that problem"? Nick just stared wide-eyed at Shane. Shane started to shake Nick, " Well are you gonna fix my problem or not". Nick looked her straight in the eyes, " No Shane, I have a girlfriend and she is wonderful, she is the best thing that ever happened to me". Shane huffed angrily, " I guess you got together with your roomfriend, I hope she makes you happy because there is no way she will be ever be has good has I was." Your right Shane she will never be has good as you are, Nick pauses, because she isn't just good she is great and that is so much better than good". Shane was furious, " You know what Nick just get out of this bar and never come back your fired'. Nick just stared at her. "Did you not hear me your FIRED so get out of this bar now before I call the cops, she said hotly. Nick starts walking out of the bar thinking about how he is going to tell Jess his story

.  
Schmidt, Cece, Winston, and Daisy met up with each other on the island. " What are we going to do today, there are so many options," Daisy says excitedly." I recommend that we do a little shopping, I need to see if they have any exotic hair products here to keep up with my beauty", Schmidt flips his hair. Winston rolls his eyes, Schmidt when we get home put a twenty in the jar. " Ok, you two stop with the bro talk and read these activities pamphlets", Cece says jokingly. The foursome is studying the pamphlets intently until Daisy speaks up. " I have the perfect activity for us to do" Daisy Looks around to her friends and looks at them and says seriously, " cliff diving". The three of them stare at her in horror.

Jess skips through the door with a grin on her face her training today went great. All the teachers liked her and even asked her to help them with the decorating of their classrooms. She was on cloud nine. Jess's mood automatically drops when she sees Nick on the couch with his head in his hands. Worried Jess scurries over to Nick ," what is wrong". Nick looks up at Jess, " Shane fired me today". Jess suddenly angry rises up from her seat, " WHY"? Nick looking down at the floor and murmurs, ' I would not have sex with her. I told her I was with you,then she said that you would not be as good as her, and I told her she was just good not great like you". Jess looked happy and sad at the same time. Jess face lit up, " Nick get up we are going to the bar to get your job back". Nick looks at Jess like she is crazy, but sees her determination look in her eyes and gets up off the couch and follows Jess.

Schmidt and Winston are standing on top of the cliff scared. Cece and Daisy have already jumped and are making chicken noises at the bottom of the cliff. " Man I don't know if I can do this I am afraid of heights" Winston responds. " Ha afraid of heights I am afraid of death Winston death," dragging out the last word. Winston laughs at Schmidt, " Death really man it's just jumping off a cliff you're not going to die". " Your laughing at me really Winston I could hit my head against the rocks and bleed out and your laughing some friend you are" Schmidt yells. "Schmidt, Cece screams ,if you jump off the cliff we can for round two". " Got to go Winston". Schmidt jumps off the cliff. The threesome at the bottom start chanting Winston's name. " Babe, Daisy cries out, if you jump I will try to help with one of you fantasies". Winston contemplating the idea, pauses and takes off running and jumps off the cliff.

Jess strolls in to the bar angry. Jess may look dainty and girly but no body messes with her man. Jess looks around for Shane and can not find her. Finally, she goes to the bar to ask Big Bob. Meanwhile, Nick takes a seat in a booth to see what Jess has in store for Shane. " Big Bob , where is Shane. I really need to talk to her". " She is in her office I will go get her for you". Jess is trying to prepare herself for what is to come. She looks over to where Nick is sitting and she knows just what to say. Shane coming out of the office sees Jess sitting at the bar, " great now I have to deal with Miss I am happy all the time", she thinks to herself. Shane approaches Jess with fire in her eyes. " What do you want you already took Nick from me, what else do you want"? Jess looks at Shane the fire in her eyes much more intense, " First of all I did not take Nick from you he chose me. Now this part Shane you might want to pay close attention to I will not repeat myself so listen good. You fire Nick just because he did not want to have sex with you, which is a sorry excuse to fire someone, you just lost the best worker and man you will ever have in this bar all because you wanted Nick to be your booty call and he refused. I am glad he never got serious with you Shane. All you would do is break his heart and I would have to pick up the pieces. Now, are you going to hire him back or do I need to report you to your superior and you can lose your job". Shane looked embarrassed. She looks at Jess the intensity in her eyes gone, " Yes, Jess tell Nick he has his job back". Nick who had over heard the conversation just look at Jess lovingly.

After a long day of exploring the island Schmidt, Winston, Cece, and Daisy went back to the boat for a double date. " This food is amazing I could make love to it", Schmidt says. Winston rolls his eye once again," Jar once again Schmidt, I think the cruise makes you more of a douchebag. The gang all laughs." Schmidt dinner is almost finished you know what that means", Cece elbows Schmidt. Schmidt just grins and grabs Cece hand as they leave the table. "Oh, Daisy dinner is over, its time to help Winch out" he says. "Winch, they are having a limbo contest tonight we should go" she looks at him with a charming smile knowing that she is going to get her way.

Nick never liked going to work, but knowing that Jess got his job back for him made him want to go to work. She had stood up for him no girl he ever dated has done that. Nick looked around to Jess coming in the front door. As soon as Jess sat down he grabbed her hand. Nick automatically started to thank her, " Jess thank you for today, that was the sweetest thing anyone has done for me." " Nick I love you, I would do anything for you", Jess said sweetly. Nick just stared at Jess. She just said I love you she really said it. " Nick , Jess shakes his arm are you ok. " Yes, Jess and I love you too. Jess is now speechless. " Nick, this is the first time we have ever said I love you to each other and it feels so natural" Jess observed. " Well Jess someone you once told me when you love someone its simple, " Nick smiled. Jess blushed. Nick being bold pulled Jess close enough where he could whispered in her ear, " later, im gonna bust you hard".


	9. Three Roommates and a Baby

Jess was sitting in the waiting room of the gynecologist's office reading a glossy tabloid when the receptionist called for her to be seen by the doctor. She entered the cold examination room and sat in the chair. Doctor Sadie came in a few minutes later and asked the routine checkup questions then handed her a gown to slip into for the pelvic exam. When Sadie returned, Jess started some small talk. "So how's that baby boy of yours doing?"

"He's very healthy, we're so happy with him. We named him Riley, after my grandfather." She was clearly ecstatic about being a mother.

"That's awesome, I'm really happy for you, Sadie. If you ever need a babysitter I'll gladly watch him for you."

"Actually, now that you mention it, we could use someone for Saturday. It's our anniversary and I had a picnic all planned out for a day at the beach."

"Saturday works for me." Jess chided.

"It's settled then. I'll drop him off around noon."

The rest of her check up went well with no complications. Jess could hardly wait until Saturday.

* * *

On Friday night Jess was feeling a bit under the weather, but she knew Sadie was counting on her to watch Riley, so she took some aspirin and got into bed early that night, hoping she was just tired from a long day. When she woke up on Saturday morning, Jess felt awful. She moaned and rolled away from the sunshine pouring in from the window because it was giving her a massive headache. Nick came into the room to check on her and found her looking miserable.

"Jess, are you alright?" He asked concerned.

"I'm fine, I just need a minute." She tried pushing herself up from her mattress and felt a wave of nausea wash over her, collapsing back onto the pillows, clutching her stomach with one hand and her forehead with the other.

Nick felt her forehead; she was burning up. He frowned. "I hope you didn't have any plans today, because you're not going anywhere."

Jess looked up at him, her blue eyes were cloudy with sickness, "But I promised Sadie I would watch Riley today."

"Well you're going to have to reschedule."

"I can't, Nick. It's her anniversary. I think I'll be okay if I just-" She tried sitting up again and nearly passed out.

Nick pushed her firmly but gently back into her pillows. "You're staying in bed. I can watch him. He's a baby, how hard can it be?"

"Nick, do you know anything about babysitting?" Jess stared at him in disbelief.

"I used to take care of my little brother all the time. I got this, Jess. Besides, the guys can help if I need them."

Jess smiled, curling up underneath her sheets. "Thank you, Nicholas."

"You're welcome, Jessica."

* * *

Sadie showed up just before noon with Riley swaddled in his blankets. She looked anxious whenever Nick answered the door, but after he explained Jess's current state of health and his experience with children she seemed to be put at ease. She handed him the diaper bag and explained how often to feed Riley and when he needed to be put down for a nap. Nick waved her off after that, telling her to have a good time on her date and walked over to the kitchen. He set the bag on the counter, clutching Riley tightly to his chest and placed the bottles of breast milk in the fridge. When he was finished, he looked down at the sleeping babe in his arms. He almost wished he could trade places with the little guy; being wrapped in a fuzzy cocoon of blankets all day and on top of that living with two smoking hot lesbians—he definitely envied this kid. He sat down on the couch and just watched Riley sleep. Nick never thought of himself as the fatherly type; he always thought he was too broken to raise a child of his own, but watching this little baby snuggled up in his arms, occasionally letting out a small sigh of content, he started to think maybe this parent thing wasn't such a bad idea.

* * *

Schmidt had been in the bathroom showering when Sadie dropped off the baby. He came out wearing a ratty old tee-shirt and black leggings with a towel wrapped around his head. Nick stared at his towel turban briefly before turning his attention back to Riley and muttering, "Jar."

Schmidt stuffed a fiver in the douche bag jar and approached Nick cautiously. "What's with the piglet?"

Nick glanced up at Schmidt long enough to shoot him a glare, then his expression softened as his eyes fell back onto Riley. "He's Sadie's. Jess was going to watch him, but she's sick, so I'm doing it."

"Is this the same guy that let my goldfish die because he thought it was conspiring against him?" Schmidt asked skeptically.

Nick looked up at his roommate, "Schmidt, are you ever going to drop that? It was a stupid fish."

"Rutherford was my friend!" Schmidt noticed he was shouting and added nonchalantly, "He was more than just a fish. He got me through a lot of hard times."

"He didn't even know who you were Schmidt. Goldfish only have three second memories."

"That is a myth! He knew me better than anyone."

Nick grunted, "Are you seriously arguing with me over a fish?"

"He wasn't just any fish, Nicholas!"

Riley started to stir so Nick glared up at him, "Shhhh!"

* * *

Winston walked into the room in a white tee-shirt and red plaid pajama bottoms. He sat down on the couch and looked across the room at Nick cradling an infant in his arms, rocking it slightly. "Uh… Nick? Who gave you a baby?"

Schmidt answered for him, "It belongs to Sadie. We're apparently watching it today because Jess is sick." He stared at the tiny infant resentfully.

Winston moved closer to Nick to get a better look at Riley, who opened his eyes and smiled up at him. "Aw, he likes his Uncle Winnie! Can I hold him?"

Nick looked from Riley to Winston reluctantly. He ended up handing the babe over to his roommate, not sure why he hesitated in the first place.

Winston rocked Riley back and forth in his arms, talking to him in an increasingly annoying baby voice, causing Nick and Schmidt to cringe. Apparently, Riley wasn't a big fan of the voice either because he started whining and wiggling around in his blanket. Nick got up and walked over to the fridge, getting out a bottle to soothe him. He handed the bottle to Winston, who immediately rejected it.

"Nick, what are you doing? You can't give a baby cold milk!"

Nick made his turtle face, "What do you mean? What am I supposed to give him?"

Schmidt scoffed and sauntered toward Nick, plucking the bottle out of his hands. "You have to heat it up or he won't drink it."

Nick scratched his head as Schmidt put the bottle in the microwave. "I've never heard of that rule before. Is it new?"

Winston rolled his eyes. "It's common knowledge Nick."

When the milk was warm, Schmidt tested it on his wrist and handed the bottle to Winston who began feeding Riley. Nick watched the baby suckle on the bottle with fascination.

"You act like you've never seen a baby before, Nicholas." Schmidt said calmly.

Nick shrugged, "I usually try to avoid them whenever I can. They're just so creepy with their giant eyes watching you all the time."

Schmidt stared at him. "I thought you liked big eyes."

Nick knew he was referring to Jess, so he punched him in the arm. Schmidt retaliated by slapping him upside the head. Nick grabbed Schmidt and pulled him onto the ground, wrestling him. Winston cleared his throat sternly. "Ay you two, grow up. You don't want to set a bad example for the kid."

Schmidt shoved Nick off of him and sat down on the couch, pulling the towel off of his head. Nick resumed watching Riley feed until the baby got tired and started to drift off. Winston shifted him in his arms turning to the guys. "Either of you want to hold him?" My arms are getting tired.

Schmidt held his hands up as if in defense. "Not me, man, babies and I have a mutual understanding to stay away from each other."

Nick rolled his eyes and relieved Winston of the baby. He reclaimed his spot on the couch and continued to stare at Riley with awe. "Is this all they do all day? 'Cause I'll be honest, I could get used to this."

Schmidt and Winston gave each other a knowing look. Winston rubbed the back of his neck before standing up and stretching. "I'm going to go shower. Have fun."

Schmidt nodded, getting up as well. "And I'm going to go do a bit of reading in my room."

"Yeah sure, have fun." Nick mumbled, not taking his eyes off of Riley.

* * *

Nick's eyes were starting to feel heavy until Riley began to cry. He spoke in a soothing tone to try and calm him down, but he kept getting more and more upset. Nick looked around the apartment uneasily, hoping someone could lend him some assistance, but Winston was still in the bathroom and Schmidt was doing god knows what in his room. Nick started to panic and then he smelled something really foul. He stared down at Riley with a disgusted look on his face. "Oh come on, man."

Riley's face contorted and he began to wail. Nick hurried over to the kitchen and grabbed the diaper bag, then returned to the living room and placed the baby gently on the coffee table. With one hand still on Riley, he dug through the bag until he found a fresh diaper and then he got to work unwrapping his stinky 'present.' He managed to get the dirty diaper off, setting it to the side, not sure what to do with it, then he just stared at Riley who was bare bottomed on the coffee table, with his disgruntled turtle face. Nick dug through the diaper bag again and found a package of wipes to clean off Riley's bottom and then he grabbed the clean diaper and just stared at it for a moment. "How the hell am I supposed to put this on you?" He stared at it for another few seconds before Riley started kicking his legs and a stream of urine began to shoot up into the air. Nick stared wide eyed at the aerial display, barely having time to put the diaper in front of his face in order to stop the spray from soaking him. When he was finished peeing, Riley giggled and Nick grunted in reply. "That wasn't funny."

Winston finally came out of the bathroom while Nick was awkwardly trying to put the diaper on Riley. He walked over and assisted Nick in putting the diaper on the baby. "Is there any powder in there?"

Nick fished through the diaper bag and pulled out a giant container of baby powder which Winston proceeded to pour into Riley's diaper. Riley continued to giggle and when they had sufficiently made a mess, Winston taped up the diaper and swaddled Riley once more in his blanket.

"Thanks man, I was never going to figure that out." Nick confessed.

Winston just gave him a thumbs up in return and headed over to the kitchen to grab himself a beer. He offered Nick one, but he turned it down. Nick found himself staring into Riley's eyes and Riley stared back at him curiously. Winston threw away the dirty diaper and sat down, taking a long pull from his beer. Schmidt reemerged from his room and rejoined his roommates on the sofa. They sat together, watching the baby whose eyes were trained on Nick's face. Winston chuckled to himself and then said, "Look at us, three men and a baby. Just like the movie."

Schmidt grinned. "If we're three men and a baby, I'm definitely Ted Danson, the handsome one."

Winston nearly choked on his beer. "If you're Ted Danson then I'm Tom Selleck. I've already got the glorious 'stache."

"I'm still not convinced that's not a shadow." Schmidt teased.

Winston reprimanded him and the two bickered for a while before Nick finally spoke up, "I hate you both. If you're Ted Danson and Tom Selleck that leaves me to be the goofy guy that no one remembers."

Schmidt and Winston looked at Nick, then at each other, then back and Nick, nodding in agreement.

"You are pretty goofy, Nicholas." Schmidt stated.

"Yeah man, there's nothing wrong with being that guy." Winston added.

Nick shook his head, returning his attention to Riley once more. They talked in low tones for a while so as not to upset the infant, but it was no use as he grew fussier by the minute. Soon he was wailing again. Nick tried his best to quiet his cries, to no avail.

"Maybe he needs changing." Schmidt suggested.

Winston shook his head, "We just changed him."

"Maybe we should try feeding him again." Nick offered. Winston prepared another bottle from the fridge, but Riley wouldn't suckle from it. Nick groaned and Schmidt suddenly began singing out of nowhere.

"Goodnight sweetheart, well it's time to go."

Nick frowned. "What are you doing, Schmidt?"

"Three men and a baby, it worked in the movie." He continued singing.

Nick stared at him. "That was a movie, Schmidt! Real life can't be solved with a musical number!"

Winston decided it couldn't hurt to try, so he joined Schmidt in attempting to lull Riley to sleep. Riley stopped wailing, but he was still fussing, watching Nick intently.

"It's working!" Winston exclaimed.

Nick hesitated. Riley was still staring at him, wide-eyed. He recognized the look in his eyes, the same look he saw on Jess's face so many times, and didn't want to let him down. He joined his roommates in the same three part harmony from Three Men and a Baby and Riley was fast asleep in no time. Schmidt and Winston high fived and went off to their rooms.

* * *

Sadie arrived an hour later to pick up Riley and thanked Nick for watching him for her. After she left he went into Jess's room to check on her. Jess was sitting up in bed and she looked much better.

"Hey, are you feeling better?" Nick asked casually.

"Much." She answered, smiling up at him, "Thanks for covering for me today."

He took a seat on the edge of her bed and took her hand in his. "It was no problem. I had a lot of fun actually."

Jess grinned wider. "I heard you singing."

Nick chuckled. "Oh, you did, did you?"

"Nick Miller, am I starting to rub off on you?"

Nick held her hand up to his lips and kissed it gently. "What do you mean 'starting to'?" He leaned forward and kissed her forehead gingerly.


	10. Bets and Board Games

Friday night set upon the Apartment 4D residents. Jess and Nick cuddled on the couch, while Schmidt organized his cooking collection and Winston watched basketball on the television.

All of a sudden, a large noise came from Jess' room. One of the stands to her dresser cracked, causing the dresser to lean forward. Clothes kept spilling out. Nick and Jess soon rushed to her room. Nick could not believe it at first, but he did not anguish over it for long. He nodded to himself, remembering his ability to fix anything and everything. He soon fetched some duck tape and empty tic-tac boxes. Before long, the dresser stood upright once again.

Jess sighed, "Nick, that is not the way to fix a dresser!"

Nick answered in defense, "Jess, not right now. I got this."

Jess walked over to him. "Nick, I love you, but you know I can't trust your fixes. For now, we will use this solution, but I am going to call a repairman tomorrow morning."

"The repairman will not be able to outdo me!"

"Nick, you know, I have the right idea in mind."

"I got this!"

Hearing the loud noises, Winston and Schmidt came over to Jess' room to see what was the matter. They gave each other knowing looks, as it looked like Jess and Nick were already in one of their sparring matches.

Nick would not budge from the dresser. "Jess, let me do this. Don't always be a know-it-all."

Jess rolled her eyes, "I am not being a know-it all! Winston and Schmidt, you agree right?"

Before Winston and Schmidt could say anything, Nick gave them a look.

Jess saw this and quickly retorted, "Well, if we were playing a game of monopoly, you know that my knowledge and strategies would help me win. Cece would know. I have won many games of monopoly!"

Nick soon replied, "I have won many games too! Well then, I challenge you to a game of team monopoly! Schmidt, Winston, you are on my team."

Jess looked at Nick with fire in her eyes. She was not losing this tonight, "Well then, Cece, and Sadie are on mine!"

* * *

By the time everyone arrived, it was already 1 am. Regardless, Nick and Jess would not budge; they both decided that their team would be winning that day. The rules were to be as follows: There would be two teams, the first team consisting of Nick, Schmidt, and Winston, and the second team consisting of Jess, Cece, and Sadie. Each player would have their own token in the game, but the teams would share their money and properties together.

Jess looked over towards Nick and quickly replied, "Nick, you will be taking back what you said before and I will be calling a repairman after I win!"

Nick could not accept this, "Jess, that is not going to be happening. You need to accept my talent!"

Before Jess and Nick argued more, Winston put a quick stop to the fight. "This talk is not going to get the game going, let's start."

Schmidt nodded, "Yes! I am looking forward to naming all my future houses and hotels! I already have picked the best names"

Cece soon replied, "Yeah, yeah, let's see when that happens."

It was decided that whoever rolled the lowest would go first, which ended up being Sadie. "Yeah, new mother in the house tonight! I am beyond tired, but ladies, this game is ours! We are starting this game tonight!"

Jess gave Sadie a high five, "Sadie, this is what I needed to hear!"

Sadie smiled, "Of course, Jess! Us winning tonight will be my thank you for last week. Looking back at what happened last week, Jess questioned her behavior. Nick was there for her. He was there for Sadie's baby. He took on the task regardless of his experience. However, Jess was not easily going to let his comment earlier tonight slide. Her team was winning tonight.

Schmidt rolled his eyes, "Well, ladies, let's see what happens after this is all done and over."

* * *

Thirty minutes later, the game was already underway. The boy's team currently stood ahead of the girl's team, with Schmidt managing to obtain three properties in one turn. Schmidt acknowledged this luck due to his great financial knowledge and understanding of the world. Nick's team currently had 7 properties with Jess' team only having four properties.

Jess was not giving up, "Nick, you might be winning right now, but just wait, my team has the skills to win this! I have the knowledge to help us win!"

He smirked and showed Jess his new property, Atlantic Avenue. "Yeah, sure Jess!"

And so the game continued on.

Before long, it was already 4 am. Sadie was on the verge of falling asleep, Winston was continuously glancing at the basketball game, and Cece was focusing on Schmidt. Neither team was winning, with each team having the same amount of properties and a similar amount of money.

Jess sighed and looked over towards Nick. Jess realized that yes, Nick often more than once was a clown, but he still has managed to make it quite far despite his faults.

She walked over towards him, "Nick, maybe I was wrong. I should trust you and listen to your advice more."

Nick could not believe it for a minute. He soon returned back to reality and smiled. "Jess, I was in the wrong too. I should also listen to you more also." Hearing these words, Schmidt, Winston, Sadie, and Cece stared upon Nick in silence.

Jess sat next to Nick, and he soon put her around her. "Well, maybe we should put a stop to this game."

Jess nodded and replied, "I think it is time to be getting to bed. Well, maybe its time to play a different kind of game"

Nick smiled and accepted her invitation quickly, with both heading off to Jess' room quickly.

Schmidt sighed, "Well, their attitude changed rather quickly, but ah well, that's them."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Sadie started to get up, "Well, it's about time. I am going back to the baby. Until later everyone."

Winston saw himself yawning, "I think I am heading to bed too. I am hoping to score many hopes in my dreams tonight. Victory, here I come!"

Even though Cece was tired herself, she found herself starting to drift. Before long, she rested her head on Schmidt's shoulder. Schmidt smiled and soon fell asleep on the couch.


End file.
